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Messrs. Rupert Everett and Colin
Firth
a Q
&
A
(in earnest)
Eighteen
years ago, two young
British actors named Rupert Everett and Colin Firth starred together in
the 30s era homoerotic public school drama, Another Country.
Almost
two decades later, and now they are being reunited on screen in
Miramax’s
version of Oscar Wilde’s cherished romantic comedy, The Importance
of
Being Earnest. Everett and Firth head an extraordinary cast that
includes
Dame Judi Dench, Reese Witherspoon and Frances O’Connor, in director
Oliver
Parker’s updated version of the classic tale.
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Set in 1890’s
England, the film
revolves around two young gents, Algernon Moncrieff (Everett) and Jack
Worthing (Firth), in search of romance and a little excitement. In
doing
so, Worthing creates a nonexistent brother (Earnest) [sic] to visit
London
so that he can call upon his sweetheart, Gwendolyn [sic] (O’Connor).
Things
go awry when Algernon catches on to his deception, and without clueing
in Worthing, assumes the role of Earnest to seduce young Cecily
(Witherspoon),
Worthing’s ward staying at his country manor. When they both end up in
the country at the same time, their deception is exposed, and mayhem
breaks
out.
After working
together at
the very beginning of their careers, and now as two of the most sought
after actors in Britain, we thought it would be fun to have them come
up
with questions for one another. Could we get insight into their 20-year
professional relationship? Would their characters in Oscar Wilde’s
wicked
tale influence the repartee? And do these guys even like each other, or
is it a bad coincidence that they have ended up once again in the same
film? Evidently, it appears they had a jolly good time on the set, and
from the looks of it, they may even be a little fond of each other. But
then again, you be the judge.
M.
Everett to
M. Firth:
What
did you think of me when we first met?
Kind,
generous, professional...adorable
in every way.
What do
you think of me
now? Have I changed much?
You have
become a monster.
Has a
mid-life crisis
hit yet and if so, describe it in depth?
I’ve started
dreaming about
Harley Davidsons, Botox and Britney Spears.
Have you
experimented
with drugs?
I can’t
remember—it’s all
a blank.
What
made you become an
actor?
Desperate need
to put on
frocks and be adored. Tyrone Power also had quite a lot to do with it.
Did Bridget
Jones’s
Diary change your life?
I’ve changed a
lot more
diapers since it was released (had a baby more or less the same
day)—and
yes, I get a lot more upgrades.
Are you
jealous of Hugh
Grant and if not, who are you jealous of?
I admire his
talent and
envy his hair options. I also look forward to the day when my fee
equals
his per diem—but I can live with not being him. No further comment. Any
honest answers to this question would be far too revealing.
Do you
regret never having
played Hamlet?
Do you
regret my
not having played it? I actually did play it once—I regret not have
played
it a bit better.
Where do
you see yourself
in twenty years? Would you like a knighthood?
While I think
a knighthood
is inevitable in the next year or so, I think I’m going to have to
decline
on grounds that it might make me seem a bit old and spoil my chances
with
Britney. Twenty years time would be fine. I expect I’ll still be
acting—if
anyone is still asking and the implants and transplants allow. I’d
quite
like to end up as Charles Gray.
Have you
ever dabbled
with homosexuality?
I don’t really
think this
is the place to come out.
What is
your best memory
of making The Importance of Being Earnest?
Dabbling with
homosexuality.
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M. Firth
to M.
Everett:
When they
suggested me
for The Importance of Being Earnest what was your first
reaction?
Oh God, not him. But
I was
pleasantly surprised at the first reading when you didn’t bring that
awful
guitar and you seemed to have lost that red brick “Robin-Hoody” thing
that
you were working in the old days.
When you dream
of giving
it all up and doing something else, what do you dream of doing?
I’d like to be a
loader
at Miami International Airport and get rich smuggling.
Would you ever
consider
cosmetic surgery. If so, what?
Yes, I would
consider cosmetic
surgery—perhaps a penis reduction.
Were you
jealous of my
singing voice in The Importance of Being Earnest?
Yes, desperately. I
thought
what a shame for you that vaudeville is dead.
What most
relaxes you
during breaks in filming?
A good whine about
the production.
What quality
in other
actors most enrages you?
When they are too
good.
Is there
anything that
(as an actor) you would absolutely refuse to do—however much they paid
you?
It would depend on
the money.
Do you like
doing live
chat shows?
They terrify me.
Are you in any
way politically
motivated?
Yes.
What is your
best memory
of making The Importance of Being Earnest?
I enjoyed the whole
thing—you
made me laugh the entire time. So did Judi.
Are you
jealous of Hugh
Grant? If not, who are you jealous of?
I’m not jealous of High
Grant, but I am jealous of Denny Night Debenhams (Daniel Day Lewis)
because
whenever he goes off to be a cobbler or have a wobbly, Harvey Weinstein
and Martin Scorcese are on the next plane tracking down the shoe shop,
coming in on all fours and begging him to come back. I once threw it
all
in for a bar job and I’d still be there now if I hadn’t been fired.
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