Rupert Everett has said he is pinching himself at the success of his film The Happy Prince, but revealed a naughty modification he had to make to the stage version.

The 59-year-old, who stars as Oscar Wilde in the film and wrote and directed it, appeared on The Graham Norton Show to discuss the success of the movie.

He said: “I am thrilled, I’m pinching myself. When I was making it I thought ‘Never again’. But now I am bursting with ideas.”

The actor, who admitted he had been historically known a a “bit of a flake”, spoke of his surprise at holding on to the project, which was 10 years in the making.

Graham Norton Show – London
Host Graham Norton with (left to right) Cher, Christine Baranski, Rupert Everett and Natalie Dormer during the filming of The Graham Norton Show (Isabel Infantes/PA)

“I did it because I wasn’t getting any parts. I had to be proactive as an actor, otherwise I would have been left on the shelf,” he said.

“It took 10 years to make it happen and historically I have been known as a bit of a flake so it’s remarkable that I held on to it for so long.”

But the actor, who shared the sofa with Mamma Mia 2 stars Cher and Christine Baranski, referenced a hilarious story recounted by Baranski.

According to the Emmy award-winning actress, actor Michael Sheen reportedly refers to his penis as “The Great Christine Baranski”, comedian Sarah Silverman once told her.

Everett said of wearing a fat suit for the The Happy Prince play: “I had a low-hanging bum, moobs and my very own ‘Great Christina Baranski’ before I realised that the people in the front few rows could focus on nothing else so I had it cut down to size!”

The Graham Norton Show airs on BBC One at 10.45pm.