Rufus Wainwright

Award won Role or nomination

1. 1973 age 0

   Born

2. 2004 age 31

   CreditThe Aviator

• LDLeonardo DiCaprio1 title
• JLJohn Logan1 title
• HSHoward Shore1 title
• CBCate Blanchett1 title
• IHIan Holm1 title
• FCFrances Conroy1 title
• EHEdward Herrmann1 title
• WDWillem Dafoe1 title
• RRRobert Richardson1 title
• MSMartin Scorsese1 title

• Parents

  • LILoudon Wainwright III

• Siblings

  • MWMartha Wainwright

• Influenced by

  • FMFreddie Mercury

Nothing recorded for: Spouse, Partner, Children, Studied under, Taught.

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  Photo:Jere Keys from New York City, USACC BY 2.0

• Mowing your lawn is against nature.

  Rufus Wainwright, CC BY-SA 4.0

• When I was very young I was Judy. On good days I was Dorothy, on bad days I was the Wicked Witch. The interesting thing about it, too, is that I’ve always related to it mainly because I don’t relate much to Frank Sinatra. I appreciate Frank, but there are so many Frank Sinatra imitators, whether it’s Harry Connick Jr. or Michael Bublé—the kind of guys who [Snaps his fingers in quick succession] basically want to get laid. And there’s nobody being the flip side of that, which is the hungry, lonely, desperate, crazy-person singer [Laughs]. So I wanted to pick up that mantle and try to be a little less cool.

  Rufus Wainwright, CC BY-SA 4.0

• Yes, I'm a homosexual and I like to shock people with glamour.

  Rufus Wainwright, CC BY-SA 4.0

• When I first came up with the lines, I don't know what it is, but you got to do it/ I don't know where to go but you got to be there, I was at this party for The Strokes in New York. There was this prevailing sense of, 'We're not quite sure what's happening or what is cool, but we know that it's somewhere around here, in this room.' It was this vague confusion, with everybody kind of sniffing for blood. It wasn't that it was a bad party, or that I don't like The Strokes; I just think there's a lot of confusion right now in the music business. Then, later on, I realized the song was really personal. I didn't know where I was, and I didn't know I was actually lost. It wasn't about the party at all; it's about searching but not knowing what you're searching for. There's the train motif, being on this train heading for either oblivion or salvation – and just holding on for dear life. That song came down from some mountain somewhere, because it was right after I wrote it that I sort of pack

  Rufus Wainwright, CC BY-SA 4.0

• The song is about knowing the end result of every situation you're in, and being able to play it out in your mind and see it before it happens. It's about addiction, really, about knowing how it's all going to end up. In that sense, you're watching a movie of yourself all the time – and then you want out of that movie.

  Rufus Wainwright, CC BY-SA 4.0

• 'Evil Angel' is an interesting song. It's actually to do with a journalist who, uh... I was in France at the time and quite delicate... and this guy basically seduced me in Strasbourg... he gave me a tour of the town and it was very romantic, and we did actually make out in the middle of this town square... and then I went and did the show and I never heard from him again. And I just felt incredibly used. I think a lot of it has to do with, once you get into this business, you do have to become some kind of a machine. You do have to be heartless at times and be able to plough through certain situations. I don't want to totally become that person, but it's good that I'm thinking about it.

  Rufus Wainwright, CC BY-SA 4.0