Ralph Fiennes' Main TV Roles Show Character(s) Page to Screen Ralph Fiennes

Main Movie Roles 2010 - Cemetery Junction 2010 - Clash of the Titans 2010 - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I 2010 - Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang 2008 - The Duchess 2008 - The Reader 2008 - In Bruges 2008 - The Hurt Locker 2007 - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix 2006 - Land of the Blind 2005 - The White Countess 2005 - The Constant Gardener 2005 - The Chumscrubber 2005 - Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit 2005 - Chromophobia 2005 - Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire 2002 - Spider 2002 - Red Dragon 2002 - Maid in Manhattan 1999 - The End of the Affair 1999 - Onegin 1999 - Sunshine 1998 - The Avengers 1998 - The Prince of Egypt 1997 - Oscar and Lucinda 1996 - The English Patient 1995 - Strange Days 1994 - Quiz Show 1993 - The Baby of Mâcon 1993 - Schindler's List

BIOGRAPHY:

Eldest of 6 children born to photographer Mark Fiennes and his wife, Jini - aka Jennifer Lash - a novelist. Siblings are Martha Fiennes, a director; Magnus, a musician; Sophie, a producer; and twins Joseph Fiennes, an actor, and Jacob, a gamekeeper. Foster brother Michael (Mick) is an archaeologist. Cousin is British explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes. Attended Bishop Wordsworth Boys' School, the Chelsea College of Art & Design, and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Joined Britain's Royal National Theatre in 1987 and the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1988.


TRIVIA:

• He and his brother, 'Joseph Fiennes' (qv), have both worked with 'Cate Blanchett' (qv) (_Oscar and Lucinda (1997)_ (qv) and _Elizabeth (1998)_ (qv)), 'Rachel Weisz' (qv) (_The Constant Gardener (2005)_ (qv) and _Enemy at the Gates (2001)_ (qv)) and 'Liv Tyler' (qv) (_Onegin (1999)_ (qv) and _Stealing Beauty (1996)_ (qv)).
• 4th cousin of Lord Saye & Sele, owner of Broughton Castle, which appears in _Shakespeare in Love (1998)_ (qv) as Viola's house.
• He was considered for the role of Robert Langdon in _The Da Vinci Code (2006)_ (qv). 'Tom Hanks' (qv) was cast instead.
• Huge fan of Professional Wrestling.
• Older brother of 'Martha Fiennes' (qv) and 'Joseph Fiennes' (qv).
• Fiennes was reluctant to take the role of Lord Voldemort in _Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)_ (qv). In a television interview on AMC's _"Sunday Morning Shootout" (2003)_ (qv) (November 20, 2005), he claimed to have been unimpressed with the previous three Harry Potter films. Fiennes was apparently nonplussed at the idea of appearing in the fourth film of a series and stated that he had "never bought into [the] world" of Harry Potter. Family members urged him to take the role while other friends counseled against it. He eventually changed his mind after Goblet of Fire director 'Mike Newell (I)' (qv) showed Fiennes preproduction conceptions of what the character of Voldemort might look like: "The little kid in me that likes to dress up and be bad went 'Yeah! I want to do it!'".
• On 3 March 2001, he received the 'William Shakespeare (I)' (qv) Award from the Shakespeare Theatre in Washington DC. Past recipients include 'Mel Gibson (I)' (qv), 'Patrick Stewart (I)' (qv), 'Lynn Redgrave' (qv), 'Kenneth Branagh' (qv) and 'Kevin Kline (I)' (qv).
• Won the 1995 Tony Award (New York City) for Actor in a Drama for "Hamlet" and was nominated for the 2006 Tony Award (New York City) for Actor in a Drama for "Faith Healer".