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Rupert James Hector Everett (; born 29 May 1959) is an English actor. He first came to public attention in 1981 when he was cast in Julian Mitchell's play and subsequent film Another Country (1984) as a gay pupil at an English public school in the 1930s; the role earned him his first BAFTA Award nomination. He received a second BAFTA nomination and his first Golden Globe Award nomination for his role in My Best Friend's Wedding (1997), followed by a second Golden Globe nomination for An Ideal Husband (1999). He voiced Prince Charming in the animated films Shrek 2 (2004) and Shrek the Third (2007). He also played John Lamont/Mr. Barron in Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (2016).
From age seven, Everett was educated at Farleigh School in Andover, Hampshire, and later educated by Benedictine monks at Ampleforth College, Yorkshire. When he was 16, his parents agreed that he could leave school and move to London to train as an actor at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. In an interview with Us Weekly magazine in 1997, he said that he supported himself during this period by doing sex work for drugs and money.
His first film was the Academy Award-winning short A Shocking Accident (1982), directed by James Scott and based on a Graham Greene story. This was followed by a film version of Another Country in 1984 with Cary Elwes and Colin Firth. Following on with Dance With a Stranger (1985), Everett began to develop a promising film career until he co-starred with Bob Dylan in the unsuccessful Hearts of Fire (1987). Everett also sang two songs in Hearts of Fire, having released his first single "Generation of Loneliness" earlier that year in May 1987.
Despite being managed by Simon Napier-Bell (who had steered Wham! to prominence), the public didn't take to his change in direction. The shift was short-lived, and he only returned to pop indirectly by providing backing vocals for Madonna many years later, on her cover of "American Pie" and on the track "They Can't Take That Away from Me" on Robbie Williams' Swing When You're Winning in 2001.
His career was revitalised by his award-winning performance in My Best Friend's Wedding (1997), playing Julia Roberts's character's gay friend, followed by a role as Madonna's character's gay best friend in The Next Best Thing (2000). (Everett was a backup vocalist on her cover of "American Pie", which is on the film's soundtrack.) Around the same time, he starred as the sadistic Sanford Scolex/Dr. Claw in Disney's Inspector Gadget (also 1999) with Matthew Broderick.
In 2006, Everett published a memoir, Red Carpets and Other Banana Skins, in which he reveals his six-year affair with British television presenter Paula Yates. Although he is sometimes described as bisexual, as opposed to gay, during a radio show with Jonathan Ross, he described his heterosexual affairs as the result of adventurousness: "I was basically adventurous, I think I wanted to try everything".
Since the revelation of his sexuality, Everett has participated in public activities (leading the 2007 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras), played a double role in the film St. Trinian's, and has appeared on TV several times (as a contestant in the special Comic Relief Does The Apprentice; as a presenter for Live Earth; and as a guest host on the Channel 4 show The Friday Night Project, among others). He has also garnered media attention for his vitriolic quips and forthright opinions during interviews that have caused public outrage.
In May 2007, he delivered one of the eulogies at the funeral of fashion director Isabella Blow, his friend since they were teenagers, who had died by suicide. He asked as part of his speech: "Have you gotten what you wanted, Issie? Life was a relationship that you rejected." During this time he also voiced the nefarious, but handsome, villain Prince Charming in the first two Shrek sequels.
Everett's documentary entitled The Victorian Sex Explorer on Sir Richard Francis Burton (1821–1890) in which he retraces the travels of Burton through countries such as India and Egypt, aired on the BBC in 2008. In 2009, Everett suggested, in an interview with the British newspaper The Observer, that coming out was not the best career move for a young actor.
Also in 2009, Everett presented two Channel 4 documentaries: one on the travels of Lord Byron, the Romantic poet, broadcast in July 2009, and another on British explorer Sir Richard Burton.
Everett then returned to his acting roots, appearing in several theatre productions: his Broadway debut in 2009 at the Shubert Theatre received positive critical reviews; he performed in a Noël Coward play Blithe Spirit, starring alongside Angela Lansbury, Christine Ebersole and Jayne Atkinson, under the direction of Michael Blakemore. and he was expected to tour several Italian cities during the 2008–09 winter season in another Coward play Private Lives (performed in Italian, which he speaks fluently)—playing Elyot to Italian actress Asia Argento's Amanda—but the production was cancelled.
In July 2010, Everett was featured in the family history programme Who Do You Think You Are? Released in late 2010, the comedy film Wild Target features Everett as an art-loving gangster, and also starred Bill Nighy and Emily Blunt.
In 2012, Everett starred in the television adaptation of Parade's End with Benedict Cumberbatch. The five-part drama was adapted by Sir Tom Stoppard from the novels of Ford Madox Ford, and Everett appears as the brother of protagonist Christopher Tietjens.
Everett then starred as Oscar Wilde in The Judas Kiss, a stage play which was revived at London's Hampstead Theatre beginning 6 September 2012, co-starring Freddie Fox as Bosie, and directed by Neil Armfield. It ran at the Hampstead through 13 October 2012, toured the UK and Dublin, then transferred to the West End at the Duke of York's Theatre on 9 January 2013, in a limited run through 6 April 2013.Gilbert, Ryan. "Rupert Everett to Star as Oscar Wilde in The Judas Kiss at the West End's Duke of York Theatre" . Theatre.com. 12 October 2012. The Judas Kiss. OfficialLondonTheatre.co.uk. Retrieved 19 August 2016. The Judas Kiss by David Hare. CheapTheatreTickets.com. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
Everett won the WhatsOnStage Award for Best Actor in a Play, 2013 Results . Awards.WhatsOnStage.com. and was nominated for the Olivier Award for Best Actor.Szalai, Georg. "Helen Mirren, Rupert Everett, James McAvoy Among Olivier Awards Nominees". The Hollywood Reporter. 26 March 2013. In 2016 the production, still starring Everett and with Charlie Rowe as Bosie, ran in North America for seven weeks in Toronto The Judas Kiss in Toronto. Toronto.Eventful.com. 22 March 2016 – 1 May 2016. and five weeks at BAM in New York City. The Judas Kiss (theatre program). Brooklyn Academy of Music. 11 May – 12 June 2016.
In early 2013, Everett began working on a film portraying the final period of Wilde's life, stating in the media that he has had a fascination with the playwright since he was a child, as his mother read him Wilde's children's story The Happy Prince before he slept. The subsequent film The Happy Prince, written and directed by Everett, was released in 2018.
In 2015, it was announced that he would play the part of Philippe Achille, Marquis de Feron, the corrupt Governor of Paris, Head of the Red Guard and illegitimate brother to Louis XIII in the third series of the BBC One drama The Musketeers.
In 2017, Everett appeared as a recurring character in the BBC 2 comedy Quacks. He plays Dr Hendricks, the Neurosis principal of the medical school.
In the 1990s, Everett had a six-year-long affair with television presenter and writer Paula Yates, who was married to Bob Geldof at the time. Discussing the relationship with reporters later, Everett dismissed suggestions that he was bisexual, calling his heterosexual experience merely an "experiment". "Ross apologises for swearing star." BBC News.
, Everett lives with his partner Henrique, a Brazilian accountant. They married in 2024.
In 2006, as a homeowner in the central London area of Bloomsbury, he supported a campaign to prevent the establishment of a local Starbucks branch and referred to the global chain as a "cancer". He protested with 1,000 other residents, and the group compiled a petition.
In 2013, Everett worked on the production of a documentary on sex work for Channel 4 that included the issue of criminalisation. During and after its filming, he contributed to the discourse on prostitution legislation in the UK. In October 2013, he signed an open letter from the English Collective of Prostitutes and Queer Strike—alongside groups such as the Association of Trade Union Councils, Sex Worker Open University, Left Front Art – Radical Progressive Queers, Queer Resistance, and Queers Against the Cuts—to oppose the adoption of the "Swedish model", whereby the clients of sex workers (though not the workers themselves) are criminalised.
Everett continued his participation in the sex-work legislation debate in 2014, writing a long-form piece for The Guardian and appearing on the BBC One programme This Week. He also joined protesters in a demonstration outside the offices of Soho Estates, a major property company that owns properties on Soho's Walkers Court, where many sex workers are based.
In 2012, Everett said in an interview regarding same-sex marriage: "But why do we want to get married in churches? I don't understand that, myself, personally. I loathe heterosexual weddings; I would never go to a wedding in my life. I loathe the flowers, I loathe the fucking wedding dress, the little bridal tiara. It's grotesque. It's just hideous. The wedding cake, the party, the champagne, the inevitable divorce two years later. It's just a waste of time in the heterosexual world, and in the homosexual world I find it personally beyond tragic that we want to ape this institution that is so clearly a disaster." A few days after the release of the interview, he was criticised for the following remark: "I can't think of anything worse than being brought up by two gay dads". He went on to explain that "for me, being gay was about wanting to do the opposite of the straight world, so I think that's where my problems in this particular area come from. ... But that's me, just me. I'm not having a go at gay couples who do. I think if Elton John and David Furnish want to have babies, that's wonderful. I think we should all do what we want."
Everett has also disclosed that he identified as transgender during his childhood and dressed as a girl from age 6 to 14. When he turned 15, he ceased to identify as female and embraced his identity as a gay man. He has expressed opposition to the use of hormones on children, saying that parents who offered the possibility of such a transition to their children were "scary".
Everett expressed his opposition to cancel culture in a 2020 interview with The Advocate. When asked about his opinions on the state of the film industry during a discussion at the 2025 Taormina Film Festival, Everett criticised what he termed "Cinematic Wokery" and said, "I preferred the world of entertainment when it was a little bit less puritanical. I feel that now we've got into a world where everybody's so easily offended by anything that anybody does that the result is that everything is completely predictable, and as a result really quite boring."
In an October 2025 interview with The Daily Telegraph, Everett said he previously identified as a "champagne socialist" in his political beliefs but said his views have since shifted to becoming more right wing in response to mass immigration, taxation and constitutional policies under Tony Blair, Keir Starmer and consecutive Conservative Party governments. During a panel interview at the 2025 Chelsea Arts Festival, Everett expressed an aversion to politicians and voting in general, stating, "I'd voted Labour all my life until the election between Ed Miliband and David Cameron. Then I voted for Cameron once, and I felt in all honesty that I'd committed a mortal sin." He made a tongue-in-cheek suggestion that he was open to running as a Tory MP at the next general election and called for a return to "old school Conservativism" in British politics.
2010s
During the summer of 2010, Everett performed as Professor Henry Higgins, with English actress Honeysuckle Weeks and Stephanie Cole, in a revival of Pygmalion at the Chichester Festival Theatre. He reprised the role in May 2011 at the Garrick Theatre in London's West End, starring alongside Diana Rigg and Kara Tointon.
Personal life
Between 2006 and 2010, Everett lived in New York City, but returned to London because of his father's poor health. In 2008, he bought a home in the Central London district of Belgravia. As of 2025, Everett has lived in a property near Enford, to be closer to family. He has also been involved in helping to prevent a pub in the village from closing.
Political views
Everett was a patron of the British Monarchist Society and Foundation and is a supporter of the Campaign for Real Ale.
Filmography
Film
1982 A Shocking Accident Jerome and Mr. Weathersby Short film 1983 Dead on Time Bank Customer / Blind Man 1984 Another Country Guy Bennett 1985 Dance with a Stranger Ruth Ellis 1986 Duet for One Constantine Kassanis 1987 The Gold Rimmed Glasses Davide Lattes a.k.a. Gli occhiali d'oro Hearts of Fire James Colt Chronicle of a Death Foretold Bayardo San Román The Right-Hand Man Lord Harry Ironminster 1990 The Comfort of Strangers Colin 1994 Prêt-à-Porter Jack Lowenthal The Madness of King George George, Prince of Wales Cemetery Man Francesco Dellamorte a.k.a. Dellamorte Dellamore 1996 Dunston Checks In Lord Rutledge 1997 My Best Friend's Wedding George Downes 1998 Shakespeare in Love Christopher Marlowe Uncredited B. Monkey Paul Neville 1999 An Ideal Husband Lord Goring Inspector Gadget Sanford Scolex/Dr. Claw A Midsummer Night's Dream Oberon 2000 Paragraph 175 Narrator Documentary The Next Best Thing Robert Whittaker 2001 South Kensington Nicholas "Nick" Brett 2002 The Importance of Being Earnest Algernon / "Bunbury" The Wild Thornberrys Movie Sloan Blackburn Voice A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information. 2003 Unconditional Love Dirk Simpson To Kill a King King Charles I 2004 Stage Beauty King Charles II Shrek 2 Prince Charming Voice A Different Loyalty Leo Cauffield Also executive producer People Charles de Poulignac 2005 Separate Lies William "Bill" Bule Mr. Fox Voice 2006 As the Don Flows Grigori Melekhov 2007 Stardust Prince Secundus Shrek the Third Prince Charming Voice St. Trinian's Camilla Fritton/Carnaby Fritton Also executive producer 2009 Camilla Fritton Also executive producer 2010 Wild Target Ferguson 2011 Hysteria Lord Edmund St. John-Smythe 2013 Justin and the Knights of Valour Sota Voice 2015 A Royal Night Out King George VI 2016 Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children John Lamont/Mr. Barron Credited as Ornithologist 2018 The Happy Prince Oscar Wilde Also writer and director 2019 The Warrior Queen of Jhansi Sir Hugh Rose Muse The Demon 2021 She Will Tirador Warning Charlie 2022 My Policeman Older Patrick Hazelwood 2023 Napoleon Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington 2025 Juliet & Romeo Lord Capulet Judas' Gospel Caiaphas 2027 Filming TBA Ancestors Maurice Post-production Madfabulous Post-production Lead Heads Post-production
Television
Episode: "The Lost Chord" Episode: "Soft Targets" Episode: "The Manhood of Edward Robinson" Miniseries 2 episodes Television film Stephen Television special 2003 Miniseries Television film Sherlock Holmes 2 episodes Miniseries Walked out during first episode 3 episodes Documentary special 2 episodes Episode: "Rupert Everett" Episode: "Fifteen Million Merits" Miniseries 2 episodes 5 episodes 6 episodes Television special 3 episodes 8 episodes 4 episodes Charles V 6 episodes John Lovegrove 8 episodes Episode: "All Roads Lead to Rome"
Theatre
Shubert Theatre, Broadway Duke of York's Theatre, West End Chichester Festival Theatre Booth Theatre, Broadway Theatre Royal Bath
Awards and nominations
1982 Laurence Olivier Awards Actor of the Year in a New Play Another Country Best Newcomer in a Play 2013 Laurence Olivier Awards Best Actor The Judas Kiss 2021 British Academy Television Awards Best Supporting Actor Adult Material
Bibliography
Further reading
External links
Categories: 1959 Births, 20th-century English Biographers, 20th-century English Lgbtq People, 20th-century English Male Actors, 20th-century English Novelists, 21st-century English Biographers, 21st-century English Lgbtq People, 21st-century English Male Actors, 21st-century English Memoirists, 21st-century English Novelists, Actors From The City Of Westminster, Alumni Of The Royal Central School Of Speech And Drama, English Expatriate Male Actors In The United States, English Film Producers, English Gay Actors, English Gay Writers, English Lgbtq Novelists, English Male Film Actors, English Male Novelists, English Male Shakespearean Actors, English Male Stage Actors, English Male Television Actors, English Male Voice Actors, English Monarchists, English People Of Dutch Descent, English People Of German Descent, English People Of Irish Descent, English People Of Scottish Descent, Living People, Male Actors From London, Male Actors From Norfolk, People Associated With Glasgow, People Educated At Ampleforth College, People Educated At Farleigh School, People From Belgravia, People From Brancaster, Writers From The City Of Westminster
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