Rupert Everett has confessed that he 'ruined' himself in his younger years while chasing the perfect physique. The 67-year-old star of My Best Friend's Wedding admitted to the Guardian that he hit the gym hard during the 1980s and 1990s but neglected proper weightlifting safety, and he is now paying the price.
Physical Toll of Fitness Obsession
'I ruined myself. Now I'm almost crippled as a result,' Everett said. 'I could never be bothered to do all those things, like stretching, which were necessary for lifting weights, because your tendons get tighter and tighter. So boring. I didn't do any of that. So now my demise will be musculoskeletal, I think.'
Before taking up weightlifting, Everett took a simpler route: he wore a specially-made bodysuit under his clothes to appear more muscular. He revealed that he had the suit custom-made by 'two queens in Tufnell Park' and wore it even during film shoots.
Hidden Bodysuit on Set
'They made me a false bottom, false calves, false shoulders, false everything ... Yes [I wore them], in everything,' he confessed. When asked if directors knew, he replied, 'No! I'd go into the fittings for the costumes with all my things on.'
Everett has previously admitted he focused too much on emulating Hollywood action stars like Tom Cruise early in his career, regretting not concentrating on stage work instead. 'I should have probably concentrated harder on the stage,' he told the Daily Mail in 2024. 'I was always trying to turn myself into the conventional Hollywood star I wanted to be when I was a kid. I wanted to be Tom Cruise! But I was a 6ft 5in beanpole looking like a cross between Snow White and Anne Frank. So there was no way I was going to be able to compress myself into that role.'
Now, Everett says he 'never looks in the mirror if I can help it.'
