Rufus Wainwright

With his melancholy voice, unashamedly flamboyant personality and lush melodies, Rufus Wainwright wowed critics with his 1998 self-titled DreamWorks debut, last year's follow-up, Poses, and contributions to soundtracks like Moulin Rouge and I Am Sam.

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And though music will always be in his blood--he's the son of singer-songwriters Loudon Wainwright III and Kate McGarrigle--he'll soon be up on the big screen as well.

Q: Is music an inevitable part of your life?

A: Yeah, I feel like a machine that goes through these horrible, dramatic, beautiful experiences and I'm all unbalanced and crazy, and then I write a song and it feels good. I'm unhappy, then song, then unhappy, then song.

Q: Has your open homosexuality affected your life and career positively, negatively or not at all?

A: I'm not afraid to admit that I'm a queen, you know? But that is something which is more akin to an ancient kind of gay thing as opposed to a present-day pride thing. I think people should celebrate their sexuality, but I think homosexuality has been around since before religion.

Q: You've said that Poses was about the love for a myth not a real person. Have you met a real man to replace the myth?

A: Not yet. The myth is still out there somewhere, jumping around on the clouds.

Q: Do you still get starstruck?

A: I was very starstruck by Bob Dylan when I met him at a dinner.

Q: Tell me a movie you're embarrassed to admit you love

A: The Next Best Thing I find fascinating. Madonna's acting is like an enigma.

Q: What made you accept a part in the surely-quaint Die. Mommy. Die?

A: I'm almost 30, and my good friend Bijou Phillips said that I better start acting now or never [laughs].

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Lonny Pugh