Rupert James Hector Everett (born May 29, 1959) is a British actor.

He was born in Norfolk, England to Major Anthony Michael Everett and Sara MacLean Everett, descended on his mother's side from the baronets Vyvyan of Trelowarren and the German Schmiedern barons. From the age of 7 he was educated by Benedictine monks at Ampleforth College, but dropped out of school at 15 and ran away to London to become an actor. In order to support himself he worked as a prostitute, or "rent boy" — as he later admitted to US magazine in 1997. After dropping out of the Central School of Speech and Drama he travelled to Scotland, and got a job in the avant-garde Citizen's Theatre of Glasgow.

His break came with the 1982 West End production of Another Country, playing a gay schoolboy opposite Kenneth Branagh, followed by a film version in 1984 with Colin Firth. He began to develop a promising film career, until he co-starred with Bob Dylan in the huge flop Hearts of Fire (1987). In 1989 he moved to Paris, writing a novel Hello, Darling, Are You Working? and coming out as gay, a move which some at the time perceived as damaging to his career. Returning to the public eye in The Comfort of Strangers (1990), several films of variable success followed. In 1995 he released a second novel, The Hairdresser of St. Tropez.

Everett's career was revitalized by My Best Friend's Wedding (1997), playing Julia Roberts's gay friend. He has since appeared in a number of high-profile film roles, often playing heterosexual leads. He also writes for Vanity Fair.

Selected films

• A Shocking Accident (short, 1982) – Jerome Weathersby
• Dead On Time (short, 1982) – Actor
• Real Life (1983) – Tim
• Another Country (1984) – Guy Bennett (based on the young Guy Burgess)
• Dance with a Stranger (1985) – David Blakeley
• Duet for One (1986) – Constantine Kassanis
• Cronaca di una morte annunciata (1987) aka Chronicle of a Death Foretold – Bayardo San Roman (1987)
• Gli Occhiali d'oro (1987) aka The Gold Rimmed Glasses – David Lattes
• Hearts of Fire (1987) – James Colt
• Tolérance (1987) – Assuerus, aka Horace Walop
• The Comfort of Strangers (1990) – Colin
• Dellamorte Dellamore (1994) aka Cemetery Man – Francesco Dellamorte
• Prêt-à-Porter (1994) – Jack Lowenthal
• The Madness of King George (1994) – Prince of Wales
• My Best Friend's Wedding (1997) – George Downes
• B. Monkey (1998) – Paul Neville
• Shakespeare in Love (1998) – Christopher Marlowe
• An Ideal Husband (1999) – Lord Arthur Goring
• A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999) – Oberon
• The Importance of Being Earnest (2002) – Algy
• Unconditional Love (2002) – Dirk Simpson (salary: USD 4,000,000)
• To Kill a King (2003) – King Charles I
• Stage Beauty (2004) – King Charles II
• Shrek 2 (2004) – Prince Charming (voice)
• People (2004) – Charles de Poulignac
• A Different Loyalty (2004) – Leo Cauffield (also as executive producer)
• (2005) – Fox (voice)

Selected TV

• The Manhood of Edward Robinson (1981) – Guy
• Soft Targets (1982) – Actor
• Princess Daisy (1983) – Ram Valenski
• The Far Pavilions (1984) – George Garforth
• Arthur the King (1985) – Lancelot
• Les Liaisons dangereuses (2003) – Vicomte Sébastien de Valmont
• Mr. Ambassador (2003) – Ambassador Ronnie Childers
• Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Silk Stocking (2004) – Sherlock Holmes

External links