Actor with a down-to-earth approach, and a Malta connection

British actor Rupert Everett is sitting tall in his trailer, a touch of make-up on his face, waiting to shoot his last scene in Malta before heading off to Moscow.

That he does not have a penchant for interviews is clear. But the razor-sharp wit he is known for in clashes with the press seems to have been toned down.

Everett was in Malta for almost two weeks to film the Canadian-UK co-production A Different Loyalty, but his connection with the island is not confined to the movie - it dates back to his childhood.

Everett's parents are said to have met in Malta. His maternal grandfather was an admiral, who lived in Lija, and his father served with the British forces and was stationed at Castille.

"My parents lived here for a while before I was born and I even spent some of my childhood here. It's lovely to be back!" he says.

The reason Everett was attracted to his role in A Different Loyalty, based on the true espionage story of Soviet double agent Kim Philby, is simple, if not enlightening: "It's a great part and a good film," he says point-blank.

Vain, arrogant, cynical and oozing with self-confidence, the legendary Cold War spy, Philby, was one of the most powerful British intelligence figures of the 20th century, who revelled in outwitting British intelligence agencies.

But A Different Loyalty "is really the story about a couple, who live together, and one day the man goes out to buy cigarettes, so to speak, and never returns.

"It is the story about a relationship that seems to be one thing and ends up being something completely different," leaving the spy plot in the background.

A string of adjectives - "it's lovely, it's great, it's really nice..."- are recited in parrot-like fashion when Everett talks about playing the enviable part with stunning actress Sharon Stone as his wife.

Everett does not deny that he is typecast - as your typical Englishman, displaying the nation's traits of emotional reserve and a stiff upper lip; with his impeccable Queen's English; often seen in Shakespeare and Oscar Wilde adaptations for the silver screen; and in the role of a gay confidante, his sexual preference being a subject he refrains from broaching.

But, then again, being typecast is not an issue and he is not seeking a change.

"I'm English, I'm tall (a lanky 6'4") and those are the kind of roles I would like to play," he explains. For obvious reasons, the actor cannot exactly visualise himself playing the part of "a Colombian drug dealer" and the image aroused is hilarious at best.

"To be honest, I just want work. I don't mind really. Whatever you can do in this business, you try and do... I'm fine doing what I do!

"I feel very grateful to get any job at all, to be honest. It (the cinema world) is highly competitive and just to be able to keep going is an achievement. That's the way I see it."

Everett seems to have a simple and down-to-earth approach to his career. "I don't take it so intellectually. I work as an actor and I do my best when I get a job. Sometimes I can get a job; sometimes I cannot."

For an actor who is not struggling, his would seem to be a modest attitude, although Everett does not agree. "That's just the way it is!"

"I make the most of whatever comes along," says the thespian, who has, nevertheless, appeared in a string of successful flicks, including My Best Friend's Wedding as Julia Roberts's homosexual editor and confidante (1995), Shakespeare in Love (1998), An Ideal Husband (1999), The Importance of Being Earnest (2002) and The Next Best Thing (2000), with Madonna.

"Cinema is not a very complicated business. You get the jobs you get, or you do not get them; and you do them if you can as far as I'm concerned."

Everett pauses for a while to think of what he would have been if he were not an actor. The answer at the end of the silence is vague: "In another life, maybe I'd do something else... I like all the things I've tried to do really" - and they include singing, modelling and writing.

That is not to say, however, that Everett is a restless spirit. "I just always try to do whatever I want to do if I can when I want to do it. I've always loved doing music; I like writing, although it's quite difficult; and I think I'll probably try to keep on doing both if I can."

Everett's younger, rebel-without-a-cause years, which include expulsion from school for insubordination and a life in London's streets and clubs, are now history.

"Definitely! I'm 44 years old and just having a nice time as much as I can."

His own favourite movie? "Don't have one!", and he 'racks his brains' to name his most ridiculous role. "I regret doing many things, but nothing really in work."

Everett's major challenge is, "like everyone's, surviving and trying to be more productive".

Having experienced the thick air of mystery and conspiracy that envelopes the counterspy's rehearsal of a scene down the dark steps of St Ursula Street, which was doubling for Beirut, it would appear that he is on the right track.