In a cover interview with UK LGBT glossy Attitude, Taron Egerton says he's proud to play Elton John in the upcoming biopic Rocketman.

Rocketman, which arrives in the United States late next month, looks at the early life of the iconic singer-songwriter.

The 29-year-old Egerton said that he wouldn't have played John if the film did not explore his relationship with manager John Reid (played by Richard Madden) and his drink and drug addiction.

“I would not have played this character if: one, I wasn’t allowed to show Elton being a nightmare, because he has been; two, if we weren’t able to explore his drink-and-drug addiction because I don’t think you can tell a story without it; and three, if I didn’t think we could make a film that the gay community would watch and feel a sense of ownership over,” Egerton said.

"What right do I have to play Elton John if I am not going to go the same lengths to portray a gay relationship as a gay actor would?”

(Related: First look: Taron Egerton as Elton John in biopic Rocketman.)

Egerton also weighed in on the debate about whether gay characters should be portrayed by openly gay actors.

"It's easy for me to sit here as a white heterosexual man and say I should be able to play a part I want, but I completely understand why a gay actor would feel that this is an opportunity for which they would be better suited,” he said. "The way I feel about it is that Elton asked me to play in a movie about his life. I am proud and privileged to be playing this person who happens to be gay. And I want to live in a world where people are excited about playing people who are different from themselves, and I believe that there is something inclusive and progressive about that."

Rocketman opens on May 31.