“The studio who made [The Next Best Thing] were completely into maximizing what they thought they could get out of me as a gay person. There had been posters on Sunset Boulevard; 20 million gay people in America, and they wanted to get to them.
We had a huge weekend in Miami, and they asked all these little gay magazines with poppers ads in the back to try to reach out to this elusive 20 million audience, which would have made me, by the way, if I’d managed it, into a huge star….
Career death is rather like real death, so it gives you an opportunity to see what real death feels like.
One minute, you’re careering ’round the corridors of power, and everybody’s going: ‘That’s a fabulous idea.’ The next minute, you’re still careering around but you’re like the Canterville Ghost: everybody’s walking right through you and you’ve died, and you didn’t realize.”—Actor Rupert Everett, talking to The Guardian about The Next Best Thing (2000), the critically-panned Madonna collaboration that effectively unmoored his career.
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Xzamilloh
So did Hollywood want to maximize his sexuality or the studio that made “The Next Best Thing”? Because the title does not gel with Rupert’s quote. I’m sure he was already a nothing to Hollywood, on the grand scale that is.
broadshoulder
Oh dear god, not Rupert moaning about his homosexuality. He’s been doing that for thirty years. Piss off you old bore
Juanjo
True that. He is a capable character actor and he was adorable when he was young.
dean089
Amen! He was an OK actor but not of the “OMG, we need to get this guy in EVERYTHING!” caliber. So while he was busy whining, Hugh Grant and Colin Firth came along and filled the tight-assed white English guy roles and there’s only so much work for that sort of thing. Meanwhile, you never EVER hear anyone say what a nice guy he is and how they were willing to go out on a limb to get him a role.
Larry McD
Thank you. Can’t someone make him Go. Away.
ChrisK
The Next best thing was a hit? Well, that’s news to me.
Maybe it has more to do with being a well known winer that did shitty movies. 20 million and you’re the best they could do? Don’t flatter yourself.
He BGB
I remember when this happened and poof! he just disappeared!
Larry McD
OMG… Love that “poof! and he just disappeared”. The poof part is funny and the rest is something to be longed for.
geb1966
So you are so desperate to fill space that you publish a 17 year old quote from a has been who hasn’t done much since? Lorrrrrdy
ChrisD
The movie was 17 years ago…the quote is from an interview the The Guardian published on 8/20/17, within the last 48 hours.
ralpo
Or it could just be that he was a bitter arrogant a##hole in the media, and that the movie was truly awful
nitejonboy
The movie was awful and Everett could never play anything BUT the gay best friend, he typecasted himself with his horrible acting, he couldn’t act his way out of a paper bag. He was doomed from the start, it was just a matter of time. He was a decent writer, I enjoyed his book I forget the title of it, he should go back to that.
DCguy
IF you’ve ever streamed this movie on Netflix or something you can see a possible reason his career didn’t keep rising. The movie is terrible. Madonna was horrible, and it was unpleasant to watch. Everett was a good actor, but that doesn’t matter when you have a terrible script and a crappy co-star. Apparently Julia Roberts passed on the movie. Everett should have done the same and waited for something better.
Jaxton
Rupert’s reported comment is hilarious, especially about the gay magazines with poppers ads at the back. Lololol.
He’s basically exposed the gay rags as well as Hollywood. It’s a very superficial culture.