Rupert Everett

Rupert Everett Headshot

Actor

Birth Date: May 29, 1959

Age: 64 years old

Birth Place: Burnham Deepdale, Norfolk, England, UK

A former model for Yves St. Laurent, Rupert Everett first made his mark on stage in 1982 by playing a character loosely based on the notorious spy Guy Burgess in Julian Mitchell's play, "Another Country." The actor would finally get his belated due, however, thanks to his scene-stealing supporting turn as Julia Robert's charming gay pal in "My Best Friend's Wedding" (1997). In addition to effectively serving as an introduction to mainstream audiences, the role also established Everett as an adept comic presence to be reckoned with. In subsequent years, Everett would play both gay and straight roles with equally convincing aplomb. In 2004, Everett scored big once again as the honeyed voice of Prince Charming in the CGI-animated hit comedy "Shrek 2" and its sequel "Shrek the Third" (2007).

Born May 29, 1959, in Norfolk, England, Everett was the younger son of a former British army officer-turned-businessman and his Scottish wife. Educated at boarding schools, Everett attended the Catholic all-male institution, Ampleforth. There, Everett met his classmate, the future playwright Julian Wadham. Active in drama, the two were notable for often being cast in female roles during school play auditions. At age 15, Everett dropped out and enrolled at London's Central School of Speech and Drama but was expelled in his second year. Drifting through London's club scene, the good-looking Everett soon landed work as a model in Milan. Returning to Great Britain, Everett landed in Glasgow and began his acting career in earnest with a walk-on role at the Citizens' Theatre. In this early period as a struggling actor, Everett supported himself as a "rent boy," or male prostitute - a fact to which the actor admitted in a 1994 magazine interview.

After establishing his languorous stage presence playing a homosexual college student- turned-incipient spy in "Another Country" - a role he reprised in the 1984 film version - Everett scored as an aristocratic bounder romancing a dance hall manager (Miranda Richardson) in "Dance with a Stranger" (1985), a based-on-true accounts tale of Ruth Ellis, the last female to be executed in England. Around the same period, the actor also attempted to crossover to the American market with appearances in the TV miniseries "Princess Daisy" (NBC, 1983) and "The Far Pavilions" (HBO, 1984). The actor's career suffered setbacks in the mid-80s, however, when he turned down the role of Cecil Vyse in the critically lauded Merchant/Ivory production of "A Room with a View" (1986). More bad luck followed when Everett missed out on a chance to play the young Orson Welles in the Welles-directed "The Cradle Will Rock" -- due to the legendary director's untimely death. Everett did, however, get a chance to work with lifelong idol Julie Andrews in the uneven film, "Duet for One" (1986).

Unfortunately, much of Everett's subsequent work in the remaining years of that decade were spent in European productions that, however prestigious on paper, did little to raise his profile in Tinseltown. Surprisingly, Everett's decision to come out of the closet as a homosexual in 1989 appeared to be a positive career move. Although he came off as a bit stiff as one-half of a British couple fallen prey to psychotic expatriates from Venice in "The Comfort of Strangers" (1990), Everett became perfectly believable playing hetero roles later in his career.

Periodically, Everett would return to the theater, as he did in 1991 for a Los Angeles revival of Noel Coward's "The Vortex," and later; in 1995, when he went out in drag to star as the female lead in Tennessee Williams' "The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore." In between, Everett wrote two amusing novels, 1991's Hello Darling, Are You Working?and 1994's The Hairdressers of St. Tropez . After a turn as a zombie hunter in Michele Soavi's well-made thriller, "Cemetery Man/Dellamorte Dellamore" (1996), Everett reinvented his signature cool screen persona with back-to-back comedy roles. In Robert Altman's "Ready-to-Wear (Pret-a-Porter)" (1994), Everett was the schemer out to sell a fashion empire out from under his own mother. In "The Madness of King George" (1994), the actor proved amusing as the dense, but ambitious Prince of Wales. For what it was worth, Everett was also one of the rare stars to escape with some shred of dignity after being upstaged by an orangutan in the dreadful comedy, "Dunston Checks In" (1996).

Luckily, those roles only served as a warm-up for his scene-stealing turn in the hit romantic comedy, "My Best Friend's Wedding" (1997). Cast as the acerbic confidante to Roberts's character, Everett played magazine editor George Downs, a flamboyant gay male who must pose as a raging heterosexual fiancé to Roberts. In the original cut of the film, Everett actually appeared in fewer scenes, but test audiences praised his chemistry with co-star Roberts. In response, several additional scenes were shot and edited in. While the much-speculated supporting Oscar nomination failed to materialize, Everett became an actor in demand Stateside virtually overnight. Following his cameo as Bard rival Christopher Marlowe in "Shakespeare in Love" (1998), Everett lent his patrician bearing and plummy tones to the role of Oberon in Michael Hoffman's adaptation of "William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream" (1999). This was followed in quick succession by an acclaimed turn as Lord Goring in director Oliver Parker's adaptation of Oscar Wilde's "An Ideal Husband" (1999). Everett would later re-team with Parker for a second, less-successful Wilde outing with 2002's "The Importance of Being Ernest."

Everett turned villainous as The Claw in the live-action cartoon "Inspector Gadget" (1999). Taking full advantage of his burgeoning fame, he then went on to polish the script (with writing partner Mel Bordeaux) and co-star opposite real-life friend Madonna in "The Next Best Thing" (2000). In it, he played a gay man who fathers a child with a friend (Madonna). Unfortunately, the film was a critical and commercial bomb - with much of the rancor, fortunately for Everett, directed toward his singer-turned-leading lady. Building further on his writing career, Everett finished two more scripts - the gay James Bondian farce, "P.S. I Love You" and the warm-fuzzy romance "Martha and Arthur" - a script which would have re-teamed him with Julia Roberts in a tale of a closeted actor who marries a beauty to protect his secret from his fans.

In the early 2000's, Everett took a brief sabbatical from the Hollywood spotlight, appearing only in the occasional low-profile European production. The thespian would resurface, though, just a year or two later to lend his distinctive vocal tones to such animated films as "The Wild Thornberrys Movie" (2002) and as Prince Charming in the CGI sequels "Shrek 2" (2004) and "Shrek the Third" (2007).

Credits

The Liar

Actor
Humphrey Biffen
Movie
2024

Everybody Loves DiamondsStream

Actor
John Lovegrove
Series
2023

Gray

Actor
Tagg
Show
2023

NapoleonStream

Actor
Duke of Wellington
Movie
2023
58%

Funny WomanStream

Actor
Brian Debenham
Reality
2022
71%

My PolicemanStream

Actor
Patrick
Movie
2022
45%

Paul O'Grady's Saturday Night Line Up

Guest
Show
2021

She Will

Actor
Tirador
Movie
2021

Warning

Actor
Movie
2021

Adult Material

Actor
Carroll Quinn
Show
2020

The Meaning of Life

Guest
Show
2020

There's Something About Movies

Contestant
Show
2019

The Name of the Rose

Actor
Bernardo Gui
Miniseries
2019
53%

The Warrior Queen of Jhansi

Actor
Sir Hugh Rose
Movie
2019

Muse

Actor
Demon
Movie
2019

The Happy Prince

Actor
Oscar Wilde
Movie
2018

The Happy Prince

Director
Movie
2018

The Happy Prince

Screenwriter
Movie
2018

Quacks

Actor
Dr Hendrick
Show
2017

50 Shades of Gay

Host
Show
2017

Love, Cecil

Self
Movie
2017

There's Something About Romcoms

Guest
Show
2016

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar ChildrenStream

Actor
Ornithologist
Movie
2016
64%

Altamira

Actor
Monseñor
Movie
2016

The Late Late Show With James CordenStream

Guest
Talk
2015

Niebezpieczne zwiazki

Actor
Sébastien de Valmont
Show
2015

A Royal Night OutStream

Actor
King
Movie
2015
75%

Love for Sale With Rupert Everett

Host
Show
2014

Love for Sale With Rupert Everett

Writer
Show
2014

Le parole della settimana

Actor
Show
2014

Rosenn

Actor
Lewis Lafoly
Movie
2014

Tarkastaja Gadget, Vol 4

Actor
Show
2013

Justin and the Knights of Valour

Voice
Sota
Movie
2013

Ireland AM

Guest
Show
2012

The Other Wife

Actor
Martin Kendall
Show
2012

Parade's EndStream

Actor
Mark Tietjens
Miniseries
2012

Larry King NowStream

Guest
Talk
2012

Black MirrorStream

Actor
Judge Hope
Series
2011
83%

La otra esposa

Actor
Martin Kendall
Movie
2011

HysteriaStream

Actor
Edmund
Movie
2011
60%

The Talk

Guest
Talk
2010

Wild Target

Actor
Ferguson
Movie
2010

Alan Carr: Chatty Man

Guest Star
Show
2009

Hay Sessions

Guest
Show
2009

Piers Morgan's Life Stories

Guest
Show
2009

St Trinian's 2: The Legend of Fritton's Gold

Actor
Miss Fritton
Movie
2009

St Trinian's 2: The Legend of Fritton's Gold

Executive Producer
Movie
2009

The Victorian Sex Explorer

Host
Show
2008

The Graham Norton ShowStream

Guest
Talk
2007

The Graham Norton ShowStream

Guest Star
Talk
2007

Shrek the ThirdStream

Voice
Prince Charming
Movie
2007
42%

StardustStream

Actor
Secondus
Movie
2007
77%

St. Trinian's

Actor
Camilla Fritton/Carnaby Fritton
Movie
2007

Shrek the Third 3D

Voice
Prince Charming
Movie
2007

Rachael Ray ShowStream

Guest
Talk
2006

Saturday Live

Guest
Show
2006

etalk

Guest
Show
2006

Der stille Don - Teil 1

Actor
Movie
2006

Der stille Don - Teil 2

Actor
Grigory
Movie
2006

Quiet Flows the Don

Actor
Grigory
Movie
2006

The Martha Stewart Show

Guest
Reality
2005

Popcorn

Guest
Show
2005

Separate Lies

Actor
William Bule
Movie
2005

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the WardrobeStream

Voice
Fox
Movie
2005
75%

Who Do You Think You Are?

Guest Star
Show
2004

Boston LegalStream

Guest Star
Malcolm Holmes
Series
2004
86%

Pleins feux

Actor
Show
2004

People

Actor
Charles de Poulignac
Movie
2004

Shrek 2Stream

Voice
Prince Charming
Movie
2004
89%

Stage Beauty

Actor
King Charles II
Movie
2004

The Return of Sherlock Holmes

Actor
Sherlock Holmes
Movie
2004

A Different Loyalty

Actor
Leo Cauffield
Movie
2004

Dangerous Liaisons

Actor
Show
2003

Imagine...

Guest
Show
2003

To Kill a King

Actor
King Charles I
Movie
2003

The Andrew Marr Show

Guest
Show
2002

Last Call With Carson Daly

Guest
Talk
2002

The Importance of Being EarnestStream

Actor
Algy
Movie
2002
57%

The Wild Thornberrys Movie

Voice
Sloan Blackburn
Movie
2002

Les Liaisons dangereuses 1

Actor
Movie
2002

Les Liaisons dangereuses 2

Actor
Movie
2002

Unconditional Love

Actor
Dirk Simpson
Movie
2002

BBC America's Funny Awards

Host
Show
2001

South Kensington

Actor
Nick
Movie
2001

Paragraph 175

Narrator
Movie
2000

The Next Best Thing

Actor
Robert
Movie
2000

Les Liaisons dangereuses 3

Actor
Movie
2000

The Daily Show With Jon StewartStream

Guest
Talk
1999

William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream

Actor
Oberon
Movie
1999

Inspector Gadget

Actor
Sanford Scolex/Dr. Claw
Movie
1999

An Ideal Husband

Actor
Lord Arthur Goring
Movie
1999

B. Monkey

Actor
Paul Neville
Movie
1998

My Best Friend's WeddingStream

Actor
George Downes
Movie
1997
74%

Le Monde merveilleux de Disney

Actor
Show
1996

Dunston Checks In

Actor
Lord Rutledge
Movie
1996

Cemetery Man

Actor
Francesco Dellamorte
Movie
1995

Ready to WearStream

Actor
Jack Lowenthal
Movie
1994
24%

The Madness of King GeorgeStream

Actor
Prince of Wales
Movie
1994
94%

リメンバランス/記憶の高速スキャン

Actor
Movie
1994

Rosamunde Pilcher

Actor
Show
1993

Inside Monkey Zetterland

Actor
Sasha
Movie
1992

The Comfort of Strangers

Actor
Colin
Movie
1990

Tolérance

Actor
Assuerus/Horace Walop
Movie
1989

Hearts of Fire

Actor
James Colt
Movie
1987

El Diestro

Actor
Movie
1987

Chronicle of a Death Foretold

Actor
Bayardo San Roman
Movie
1987

The Right Hand Man

Actor
Lord Harry Ironminster
Movie
1987

The Gold-Rimmed Glasses

Actor
Davide Lattes
Movie
1987

Duet for One

Actor
Constantine Kassanis
Movie
1986

Merlin & the Sword

Actor
Movie
1985

Dance With a Stranger

Actor
David Blakeley
Movie
1985

Living the Life

Actor
Tim
Movie
1984

Real Life

Actor
Tim
Movie
1984

Livin' the Life

Actor
Tim
Movie
1984

Another Country

Actor
Guy Bennett
Movie
1984

Un crime pour une passion

Actor
Movie
1984

Dead on Time

Actor
Bank Customer
Show
1983

The Agatha Christie Hour

Actor
Guy
Show
1982

Today

Guest
News
1952

News aboutRupert Everett