RUPERT EVERETT LABLED A PERVERT

Rupert Everett has revealed a Hollywood studio boss once branded him a "pervert" after he came out as a gay man.The actor says that despite being personally asked by Sharon Stone to star in a film with her, the head of the studio vetoed her choice because of his sexuality.He revealed at The Times Cheltenham Festival of Literature: "Sharon wanted me to do it and I went to meet the director and he wanted me to do it."The director rang up the head of the studio and he said, 'Oh no, he's not playing a role - he's a pervert.'"Everett, 47, claims the 'Basic Instinct' actress tried to persuade him to take legal action.He added: "He said this in front of lots of people. My agent and lawyer got worked up and we went into battle."Sharon was on the phone to me saying, 'We can close this movie down. We're talking about your civil rights.'"I was moving toward a fight with the studio on this one. But in the end those kind of battles are too exhausting to fight... and I didn't."Everett - who has just published his autobiography, 'Red Carpets and Other Banana Skins' - also claimed that coming out as homosexual ruined his chances of landing big action roles, because Americans would not accept a gay man playing heroic characters.He said: "Half the film theatre owners in America are right-wing Christians."