The world premiere of “Tetris” gave audiences at South by Southwest a whole new look at Taron Egerton.
From his first on-screen appearance, Austin audiences couldn’t stay quiet, cheering and applauding his impassioned speeches, dad jokes, and 1970s porn stache.
In the film, which reveals a political thriller hidden in the history of the video game of the same name, Egerton plays the role of designer and entrepreneur Henk Rogers. After a simple deal at a Las Vegas electronics convention goes wrong, Rogers finds himself embroiled in overlapping conflicts between every game company worth his while, an English billionaire, and the Soviet Union itself, with his life threatened on multiple occasions.
The story behind “Tetris” is true – at least in part. The real Henk Rogers appeared for a Q&A after the screening alongside Alexey Pajitnov, the Russian designer behind the game, played by Nikita Yefremov in the film. If SXSW was excited to see Egerton, they were in awe of Rogers and Pajitnov, who received a standing ovation as they were introduced onstage.
As moderator, SXSW film and television director Claudette Godfrey asked the “Tetris” team which of the film’s whimsical events were correct and which required more creative freedom. They were mama to divulge the details.
“It’s all emotionally true,” screenwriter Noah Pink said with a grin.
Pajitnov agreed: “It was a very truthful film emotionally, intellectually and spiritually.”
Godfrey pressed, asking about the reality of a scene in which Rogers signs a non-disclosure agreement to two Nintendo employees, who then show him a prototype Game Boy – the company’s first-ever foray into portable devices.
“I’m still under the NDA,” Rogers joked.
Egerton found that working on “Tetris” reunited him with his favorite things about his job.
“I think what I’m particularly connected to about the script is quite universal, because while it’s an extraordinary story — a global phenomenon, widely recognized — it’s really the story of a friendship between two guys from two very different geographic places and ideologies. But they bond over something very childlike,” he said. “It’s the love of play. And I’m an actor and that’s what I do.”