ACTOR RUPERT Everett was honoured in a handprint ceremony outside Dublin’s Gaiety Theatre yesterday. The 53-year-old’s bronze handprints will find a home alongside names such as John B Keane, Ronnie Drew, Milo O’Shea and Maureen Potter.
“Well, I’m immortal,” said Everett. “Everyday it rains on Dublin, I’ll be able to think about it raining on to my little hands. And the sun will shine on my hands and everyone going to the theatre will walk on my hands. It’s amazing.”
Tonight will be marked by the final performance The Judas Kiss at the theatre, where Everett plays Oscar Wilde. The drama, by David Hare, tells the story of Wilde’s infamous downfall after the success of his play, The Importance of Being Earnest.
“It’s just an extraordinary feeling of walking on graves, kind of thing, that you get a lot in Dublin,” said Everett.
This is not the first time he has been connected with the Irish writer and poet.
Everett has played several of Wilde’s creations, as well as the man himself.
“To me he’s one of the great punctuation points between my century, the 20th century, and the 19th century . . . it’s just the most romantic story that you can possibly imagine, really,” he said.
After the run, Everett plans to act in, and direct, a film he has written about Wilde’s last years.