Rupert Everett's Royal Role

Rupert Everett stars in the new film version of A Midsummer Night's Dream, playing Shakespeare's spirit king of the forest, who casts a playful spell of love, reports CBS This Morning Correspondent Eleanor Mondale.

He's a true king of romantic manipulation. In A Midsummer Night's Dream, Everett's spirit king uses a special potion to turn enemies into lovers. Then, he sits back to watch the emotional mud slinging.

"I think he's like a cat, slightly, and human beings are like a ball of wool," says Everett says of his character. "And he's like, you know, clawing and playing."

At forty-years-old, Everett's career is certainly on the upswing. Since his audience-pleasing role in My Best Friend's Wedding, he has received widespread acclaim and recognition. Still, the actor is very realistic about the slings and arrows of Hollywood's fickle fortunes. "The reality is that I think the whole of life, and certainly show business, is full of ups and downs and goes around in a circle," says Everett.

"So, after a little whileÂ…you don't look forward to the hard times, but you know they're going to come at some point. Especially, in a business like this, it can be very much a roulette wheel. You know, it can go very wrong or it can go very right. So, I'm kind of, at this stage, I'm ready for anything."

A Midsummer Night's Dream has been cut-down slightly in its transition from the stage to the screen. Although Shakespeare purists may not advocate such a decision, Everett insists that less is more.