ALONG COMES MARY

(Editor’s Note: What do you do when you’re invited to interview Hugh Jackman and Taron Egerton for your blog? You jump for joy, of course! Then, if you realize it is on the day you’re leaving for a trip, you shed a tear but send one of your favorite bloggers to cover for you. This is what happened to me and I am so thrilled Melanie Kaminski could go meet these amazing actors and see their inspiring new film, Eddie the Eagle. Read below to hear what Melanie thought about the film and these leading men! xo, Mary)

Recently, I found myself at the ultra posh Beverly Wilshire Hotel for a special reason. I wasn’t there for a getaway and I wasn’t there for a super luxe spa day. Instead, I was there for to interview Hugh Jackman and Taran Egerton about their upcoming film,  Eddie the Eagle.

Going in I was both excited and nervous. Hugh Jackman is one of our most famous leading men and Taran Egerton is a fast rising star. How would it be to speak to them in person? It turns out I needn’t have been nervous. Both men were as kind and delightful as can be. Every nice thing you’ve heard about Mr. Jackman is true and Mr. Egerton is very down to earth and amiable. They soon put the room at ease and we began to discuss the film.

Eddie the Eagle is inspired by Eddie Edwards, a man who defied the odds to be the first ski jumper to represent Britain at the Olympic Games. I was curious to learn what brought both actors to this inspirational story. Hugh Jackman explained that he was a teenager when Edwards competed and he became quite the folk hero in Australia. Jackman stated, “It taps into everybody’s desire to find the thing they love, to overcome whatever obstacles they are going to overcome to do it.” Egerton had more personal reasons to do the film as he had previously worked with the director, Dexter Fletcher, and was eager to work with Jackman, an actor he admires.

As the movie is inspired by a true story the actors also had the privilege of meeting the real life Eddie. Both actors relished the chance to interact with the athlete and Egerton particularly found him to be an inspiring, engaging person to speak to. As for his reaction to the film? Both actors actually had the chance to view it with him and both admitted to being nervous about his potential reaction. Jackman was happy to report that, “he loved it, he absolutely loved it.”

It was a real treat to interview Hugh Jackman and Taran Egerton about Eddie the Eagle, and to learn about the inspiration tale directly from the actors involved was a true insight into this film!

(Melanie Kaminski is a SoCal native who loves LA. When she’s not working the 9-5 grind you can find her all over Los Angeles and Orange County finding new things to see and do. When she finds something that’s pretty great (which she often does!), she shares it with her readers. Read her blog, LA Explorer, HERE and contact her at [email protected])