Taron Egerton Says Mom's Cancer Diagnosis 'Felt Like the End of My Youth': 'Just a Tough Experience'

"You lose a lot of the lightness," said the actor

Taron Egerton is opening up about the "tough experience" of his mom's cancer diagnosis.

The Tetris actor, 33, dropped out of the West End play Cock last April, less than a month after initial performances began, due to "personal reasons." He later revealed to The New York Times that "toward the end of" 2021, a "close family member was diagnosed with cancer, and I dropped out of a film to come home and be with that person."

He added in that July interview, "I thought that, with the play, I was ready to go back to work, but I wasn't. I had to leave, and it was sad, and absolutely one of the hardest decisions I've had to make."

Now, in a recent conversation with The Telegraph, Egerton revealed that it was his mom who "had cancer."

"She's fine now," said the Kingsman actor. "But it felt like the end of my youth. You confront something that means you have to dispel any of the illusions and stories you tell yourself about anything fairy tale to do with life — you lose a lot of the lightness. It was just a tough experience."

Related:Britney Spears Calls Taron Egerton the 'Coolest Guy Ever' as Sam Asghari Jokes 'Hands Off My Wife'

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Egerton also reflected on his childhood and his bond with his mom, saying that he was mostly raised solely by her after she and his dad broke up.

"My father was in my life, [but] not day-to-day in the home environment. So I guess I'm prob­ably more what you would describe as feminine masculine than masculine masculine. But I like that about myself," he said. "I like that I'm hopefully quite empathetic and in touch with my feelings — probably a bit too in touch with them. But I had a great mum, she worked really bloody hard for me. And now we look after each other."

He added, "I was very loved. We're very close. There's something about 'single parent/only child,' I think, that really forges a special kind of bond."

On his birthday in November, Egerton shared a photo of himself with his mom on Instagram and wrote in the caption that the "past year has been one of the most challenging of my life but today we are happy and we are healthy."

"I am truly one of the luckiest people in the world," he added.

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