The 1 Request Elton John Had About the Hair in Rocketman

"The hardest thing we did was shave Taron's hairline further back [on his forehead] and to thin his hair out," Georgiou revealed. "That was brave of him, as he had to live with that for the run of the film." Among the other major changes Egerton went through to transform into John: prosthetics to create under-eye bags and deep smile lines, heavier eyebrows, and a bald cap.

"I called in Barrie Gower of [FX makeup company] BGFX to codesign the prosthetics. We had two prosthetic artists and myself create that look for each [scene] Taron was in."

Talk about dedication to your craft (and quite the nice gesture from a music legend): "Taron was gifted an earring by Elton, and so he decided to pierce his ear in order to wear it for the run of the film," Georgiou said.

The toughest critic should probably be the subject at the centre of the story line, right? Turns out, John has been very supportive. "I met Elton at the start of my time on the project when he came to set to visit and see the progress we were making. He didn't personally discuss this with me, but I knew he saw the screen tests and he asked that his hair be a sandy blond with highlights — which of course I took on board. David Furnish also visited the set often and was always keeping us informed of Elton's thoughts as the film was being shot. I must say we only ever got praise."

Reading Georgiou's list of wigs it took to bring the characters in Rocketman to life reads like a recipe, only a little hairier:

• Four wigs for Egerton (for John)

• Three wigs for Jamie Bell (for Bernie Taupin)

• Three wigs for Howard (for Sheila Dwight)

• Three wigs for Gemma Jones (for Ivy)

• One wig for Richard Madden (for John Reid)

• One wig for Stephen Graham (for Dick James)

• One wig for Tate Donovan (for Doug Weston)

• Four wigs for John's band

• Three wigs for John's second band

• Countless sideburns and facial hair wigs

For anyone counting, that totals a whopping 23 hair wigs — and likely double that number for sideburns and facial hair. And that's just the central cast! "My supporting [hair and makeup] artist supervisor had hundreds of other wigs applied daily to the supporting artists too," Georgiou said.

Why such an extensive list? "Each main character had at least three looks with three different wigs to help with their journey through each era," she said. "Barrie and I kept the same method for all the characters in the ageing process. That way their ages all moved seamlessly in the storyline."

"I had to colour up a lot of the actors' hair," she said. "The younger Elton's [was lightened], and then Richard Madden had to be made darker to play John Reid." As such, she kept keratin-based shampoo and conditioners at her side at all times to repair any damage.