Justin Timberlake was Elton John's first choice to star in Rocketman

Long before Taron Eagerton was finalised to play Elton John in his biopic, Rocketman, the music icon originally considered Justin Timberlake for the role.

John and producer husband David Furnish had the former 'Nsync band member in mind after he featured in the 2001 music video, This Train Don't Stop There Anymore as the man of the moment.

"But we never formerly approached Justin because we weren't ever at a stage where it was the right time to approach him. But he did an amazing job in the video. He put on a prosthetic nose, and it turned out to have been some really interesting acting work as well," Furnish said.

The film, directed by Dexter Fletcher and produced by Furnish, received favourable reviews at its world premiere at the recently concluded Cannes Film Festival.

Tom Hardy too almost starred in Rocketman, but John appeared to throw a shade at the Venom star. "Taron Egerton came onboard this film because somebody else dropped out," he told the crowd at the film's Cannes afterparty, adding that Eagerton's "performance in this film is scary brilliant... When I watch the movie, I don't see an actor, I see myself."