Friday, February 27, 2009

Out in Film: Rupert Everett

Idol worship: Rupert Everett, actor.

- His screen debut was in the Academy Award-winning short film A Shocking Accident, followed by roles in such television productions as Princess Daisy, The Far Pavilions and Arthur the King.

- He burst onto the international scene with his acclaimed performance of Guy Bennett, an openly gay English public school student, in the stage and screen versions of Another Country. A string of smaller films — Dance with a Stranger, Duet for One, Chronicle of a Death Foretold, The Comfort of Strangers, Inside Monkey Zetterland — followed, capped off by the Bob Dylan flop Hearts of Fire.

- After supporting roles in Prêt-à-Porter (a.k.a. Ready to Wear) and The Madness of King George, he received Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations for his witty portrayal of Julia Roberts' gay pal George in My Best Friend's Wedding. He next played Christopher Marlowe in Shakespeare in Love and got another Globe nod for An Ideal Husband.

- Other film roles include Oberon in A Midsummer Night's Dream, the villain in Inspector Gadget, Madonna's baby daddy in The Next Best Thing, Algy Moncrieff in The Importance of Being Earnest and King Charles II in Stage Beauty on film and Valmont in Les Liaisons Dangereuses and the title sleuth in Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Silk Stocking on television. He has also lent his vocal talents to the animated films The Wild Thornberrys Movie, Shrek 2 and Shrek the Third, as well as voicing the fox in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

- Returning to the stage, he makes his Broadway debut this week in the revival of the classic Noël Coward comedy Blithe Spirit. His next film project will be the action comedy Wild Target.

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