Taron Egerton was 'petrified' filming free fall in new movie Apex

Taron Egerton was "petrified" filming a free fall in the new survival action thriller Apex.

In Baltasar Kormákur's latest film, Charlize Theron plays a seasoned climber who finds herself being pursued by Egerton's ruthless hunter Ben amid the perilous terrain of an Australian national park.

During an interview with Empire magazine, Theron and Egerton revealed that Kormákur encouraged them to push themselves physically as much as possible.

The Rocketman star shared that the Everest director asked if he would be open to doing a free fall scene himself - instead of using a stunt double - and Egerton was so scared doing it that he screamed as the cameras rolled.

"I don't usually struggle with heights, but I found hanging from a wire to be quite challenging," he began. "There's a free fall, and Balt asked if I would be open to doing it. I decided to give it a shot, and I don't mind saying - I was petrified. I called, 'Action,' and we rolled. And I fell. And I screeeamed."

He added, "The moment we called, 'Cut,' I got a lovely round of applause from the crew. I suppose that felt like a kind of real moment of achievement."

Theron, who finds herself running, swimming and climbing for her life throughout the film, noted that the director was right there with them when they pulled off daunting challenges.

"(Kormákur) was always the first one to f**king do the craziest thing that he was asking us to do," she explained. "He knew what I was capable of. You want someone that can push you to a level that you can't take yourself."

Kormákur quipped that he tries "to drag the cast through hell" during a shoot because he wants them to fully experience the weather and the environments.

Apex will be released on Netflix on 24 April.