'He was somebody it was really difficult not to love, however cruel he was and however cruel the situation was, he had just a fire in him that was so attractive,' the 51-year-old British actress said. Watson, who played his long-suffering ex-wife Constance, said Wilde's irresistible charm and wit often saved him in desperate circumstances. Read also: Canada apologizes for government's gay 'witch hunt' He had a great Jesus-complex himself, he was fascinated by Jesus and Christianity and Catholicism.' 'He walked into danger - that was the kind of cornerstone for me. 'He wrote once 'Why does one run towards ruin, why does it hold such a fascination?' I think that is the key to Oscar Wilde's pre-Freudian, self-destructive nature,' he said.

He had already appeared in two films and several plays about Wilde before making his directorial debut with 'The Happy Prince', which co-stars Colin Firth, Emily Watson and Tom Wilkinson.Įverett said the film, name for one of Wilde's beloved fairy stories, set itself apart from previous depictions, including Stephen Fry's 1997 acclaimed movie portrayal, by showing the 'messier' side of the writer's final chapter. So I think it's definitely one of the things that drew me to try to tell the story,' Everett said.Įverett has been a trailblazer in the industry, playing gay characters since the 1980s in movies such as 'Another Country' and 'My Best Friend's Wedding' opposite Julia Roberts, while speaking openly about his own homosexuality. 'I do find that being a gay performer in cinema there's many parallels between being an outcast or not ever being quite accepted into a milieu. Wilde, Everett said, eschewed the option of simply going abroad to avoid his prison sentence because he wanted to ensure his own 'immortality' as a 'martyred' gay male writer.

Oscar wilde biopic