Rupert Everett Says He’s ‘Almost Crippled’ from Working Out for Hollywood Roles: 'I Ruined Myself’

Kirsty HatcherWed, June 3, 2026 at 9:30 AM UTC

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Rupert Everett in 1989 and in 2025
Credit: Alain BUU/Gamma-Rapho via Getty; Sebastien Courdji/Getty -

Actor Rupert Everett says he's "ruined" himself by not working out properly

"I could never be bothered to do all those things, like stretching, which were necessary for liftingweights, because your tendons get tighter and tighter," Everett told The Guardian, adding that he's "almost crippled as a result"

The 67-year-old also revealed he used bodysuits with false muscles early in his career to enhance his appearance

Rupert Everett says his former exercise regime has left him “almost crippled.”

Speaking to U.K. newspaper The Guardian in an interview published June 1, the My Best Friend's Wedding actor, 67, opened up about how his pursuit of “muscles” in the ‘90s has affected him later in life.

“I ruined myself,” he told the outlet. “Now I’m almost crippled as a result. I could never be bothered to do all those things, like stretching, which were necessary for liftingweights, 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.”

“I was wonderful-looking at one point,” he continued. “I had muscles. Everything. It was quite short-lived. I call it my Hollywood year.”

Rupert Everett and Julia Roberts in 'My Best Friend's Wedding' (1997)
Credit: Moviestore/Shutterstock

Along with starring as Julia Roberts’ gay best friend George in 1997's My Best Friend’s Wedding, Everett also starred in the likes of St. Trinians, and its sequel — The Legend of Fritton’s Gold — A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Shrek 2.

But he told The Guardian that before he buffed up, he used to wear bodysuits under his costumes and wore them “in everything” he starred in.

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“I met these two queens in Tufnell Park [an area of North London] who made bodysuits, and they made me a false bottom, false calves, false shoulders, false everything,” he said, adding that directors would never know because he would “go into the fittings for the costumes with all my things on.”

As for what advice he would give to his younger self, Everett, who is starring in the second season of Hulu’s Rivals, the actor told the outlet, “Well, in terms of going into the theatre, one of the things you really have to take on board is that everyone has paid quite a lot of money to see you, and so, no matter how depressed you might be feeling, or how you might feel you’re missing out on something … I always felt I was missing out on some mythical life that was taking place somewhere else. That was my problem.”

Rupert Everett in 1987
Credit: Micheline PELLETIER/Gamma-Rapho via Getty

In the summer of 2024, Everett confirmed that he had married his longtime partner Henrique, a Brazilian accountant.

"I have always hated weddings, although I do love funerals. But when you get older … I have seen so many problems that gay couples face, so it’s really more about forward-thinking, as we have been together for a long time now," he told Tatler.

Rupert Everett in March 2026
Credit: Franco Origlia/Getty

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"And I don’t know how long I’m going to last," he continued. "Well, being tall, I’ve never seen a 95-year-old 6ft 5in person. You just never know what’s going to happen."

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”