Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes ("rafe fines"; born 22 December 1962) is a British actor. He has appeared in films such as Schindler's List, Quiz Show as Charles Van Doren, The English Patient, Oscar and Lucinda, Red Dragon, The Constant Gardener, Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, and the Harry Potter films. Most recently he portrayed William Cavendish, The Duke of Devonshire in the film "The Duchess".

Biography

Early life

Fiennes was born in Ipswich, Suffolk, England, the son of Mark Fiennes (1933-2004), a farmer and photographer, and Jennifer Lash (1938-1993), a writer. His surname is of Norman origin. He is a third cousin of the adventurer Sir Ranulph Fiennes. The eldest of seven children, his siblings are actor Joseph Fiennes (Shakespeare in Love, Luther), Martha Fiennes, a director (in her film Onegin, he acted the title role), Magnus Fiennes, a composer, Sophie Fiennes, a filmmaker, Jacob Fiennes, a conservationist, and his foster brother Michael Emery, an archaeologist.

The Fiennes family moved to Ireland in 1973, living in West Cork and County Kilkenny for some years, where Fiennes attended Saint Kieran's College for one year. He also attended Newtown, a quaker school in Waterford. It has been alleged by locals in Kilkenny that this year was a thoroughly unenjoyable one. They moved to Salisbury in England, where Fiennes finished his schooling at Bishop Wordsworth's School before attending Chelsea College of Art.

Career

Fiennes trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and then joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1988. He is the only actor ever to have won a Tony Award for playing Hamlet on Broadway. In 2001, Fiennes received the William Shakespeare Award from the Shakespeare Theatre in Washington, D.C. Fiennes made his film debut in 1992 as Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights opposite Juliette Binoche, for which he received substantial acclaim and praise throughout Europe.

1993 was the "breakout year" for him. He had a major role in the very controversial Peter Greenaway film The Baby of Mâcon with Julia Ormond. Though the film was poorly received, Fiennes's career suffered no lasting consequences, and later that year he became known internationally for portraying the amoral Nazi concentration camp commandant Amon Goeth in Steven Spielberg's Schindler's List. For this he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He did not win the Oscar, but did win the Best Supporting Actor BAFTA Award for the role. His portrayal as Göth also earned him a spot on the American Film Institute's Top 50 of movie villains.

In 1994, he portrayed American academic Charles Van Doren in Quiz Show, and in 1996 was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for the World War II epic romance The English Patient. Fiennes' work has ranged from thrillers (Red Dragon) to animated Biblical epic (The Prince of Egypt) to campy nostalgia (The Avengers) to romantic comedy (Maid in Manhattan) and offbeat dramedy (Oscar and Lucinda). Fiennes was cast as Lord Voldemort in the 2005 fantasy film Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and has retained this role for both the 5th film Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and the 6th film Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince which will be released in July 2009. The Constant Gardener was released in 2005 with Fiennes as the title role. The film is set in the slums of Kibera and Loiyangalani, Kenya. The situation affected the crew to the extent that they set up the Constant Gardener Trust in order to provide basic education around these villages. Fiennes is a patron of the charity. His recent performance in the play Faith Healer gained him a nomination for a 2006 Tony Award.

Personal life

Fiennes is a UNICEF ambassador.

Fiennes met actress Alex Kingston while both were students at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. After dating for ten years, they married in 1993. However, they divorced in 1997. In 1995, Fiennes started dating Francesca Annis, an actress 17 years his senior, who played his mother in Hamlet. In February 2006 the couple separated after tabloid reports revealed that Fiennes had had an affair with Romanian singer Cornelia Crisan. In late 2006, sources reported that Fiennes was dating American actress Ellen Barkin.

Fiennes stirred controversy in February 2007 when staff aboard a Qantas airline flight from Australia to India caught the actor leaving the same airplane lavatory as 38-year-old female flight attendant Lisa Robertson. At first denying any allegations of a mid-air tryst, Robertson later confessed to having unprotected sex in the stall with Fiennes, whom she had met just hours before. Fiennes reportedly was enroute to Mumbai, India, as a participant in AIDS awareness efforts for UNICEF. The organization would retain Fiennes as an ambassador, but Qantas would ultimately relieve Robertson of her duties.

One month after the airline incident, Fiennes again made headlines when he reportedly disturbed sleeping guests at Bruges, Belgium's posh Hotel Tuilerieen during a 5 a.m. naked pool romp with four women. The actor was a guest at the hotel while shooting the film In Bruges.

Work

Filmography

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1990	A Dangerous Man: Lawrence After Arabia	T. E. Lawrence
1992	Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights	Heathcliff
1993	The Baby of Macon	The Bishop's son
	Schindler's List	Amon Goeth	Won: BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor; Nominated: Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor; Nominated: Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor
1994	Quiz Show	Charles Van Doren
1995	Strange Days	Lenny Nero
1996	The English Patient	Count Lászlo de Almássy	Nominated: Academy Award for Best Actor; Nominated: BAFTA Award for Best Actor; Nominated: Golden Globe Award for Best Actor; Nominated: SAG Award for Best Actor (and Cast)
1997	Oscar and Lucinda	Oscar Hopkins
1998	The Avengers	John Steed
	The Prince of Egypt	Rameses	(voice)
1999	Sunshine	Ignatz Sonnenschein/Adam Sors/Ivan Sors	Won: European Film Award for Best European Actor
	Onegin	Evgeny Onegin
	The End of the Affair	Maurice Bendrix	Nominated: BAFTA Award for Best Actor
2000	The Miracle Maker	Jesus Christ	(voice)
2002	Spider	Spider
	The Good Thief	Tony Angel	(uncredited)
	Red Dragon	Francis Dolarhyde
	Maid in Manhattan	Christopher Marshall
2005	The Chumscrubber	Mayor Michael Ebbs
	Chromophobia	Stephen Tulloch
	The Constant Gardener	Justin Quayle	Nominated: BAFTA Award for Best Actor
	Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit	Victor Quartermaine	(voice)
	The White Countess	Todd Jackson
	Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire	Lord Voldemort
2006	Land of the Blind	Joe
2007	Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix	Lord Voldemort
	Bernard and Doris	Bernard Lafferty
2008	In Bruges	Harry Waters
	The Duchess	William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire	awaiting release
	The Hurt Locker	Contractor Team Leader	awaiting release
	The Reader	Older Michael	post-production
2010	Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part I)	Lord Voldemort	pre-production - Not yet signed
2011	Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part II)	Lord Voldemort	pre-production - Not yet signed

Stage

• Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare (1985) - Role: Curio - Directed by Richard Digby Day - New Shakespeare Company - Open Air Theatre in Regent's Park, London
• A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare (1985) - Role: Cobweb - Directed by Toby Robertson - New Shakespeare Company - Open Air Theatre in Regent's Park, London
• A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare (1986) - Role: Lysander - Directed by David Conville and Emma Freud - New Shakespeare Company - Open Air Theatre in Regent's Park, London and New Shakespeare Company's European Tour
• Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare (1986) - Role: Romeo - Directed by Declan Donnellan - New Shakespeare Company - Open Air Theatre in Regent's Park, London
• Six Characters In Search Of An Author by Luigi Pirandello (1987) - Role: Son - Directed by Michael Rudman - National Theatre's Olivier Theatre, London
• Fathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenev (1987) - Role: Arkady Nikolayevich Kirsanov - Directed by Michael Rudman - National Theatre's Lyttelton Theatre, London
• Ting Tang Mine by Nick Darke (1987) - Role: Lisha Ball - Directed by Michael Rudman - National Theatre's Cottesloe Theatre, London
• Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare (1988) - Role: Claudio - Directed by Di Trevis - Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon
• The Plantagenets: Henry VI, The Rise of Edward IV, Richard III His Death by William Shakespeare (1988-1989) - Role: Henry VI, ghost of Henry VI - Directed by Adrian Noble - Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon and Barbican Theatre, London
• King John (1989) by William Shakespeare - Role: Dauphin - Directed by Deborah Warner - The Other Place Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon and The Pit Theatre, London
• The Man Who Came To Dinner by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman (1989) - Role: Bert Jefferson - Directed by Ron Gene Saks - The Royal Shakespeare Company - Barbican Theatre, London
• Playing With Trains by Stephen Poliakoff (1989) - Role: Gant - Directed by Ron Daniels - The Royal Shakespeare Company - The Pit Theatre, London
• Troilus and Cressida by William Shakespeare (1990) - Role: Troilus - Directed by Sam Mendes - The Royal Shakespeare Company - Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon
• King Lear by William Shakespeare (1990) - Role: Edmund - Directed by Nicholas Hytner - The Royal Shakespeare Company - Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon
• Love's Labour's Lost by William Shakespeare (1991) - Role: Berowne - Directed by Terry Hands - The Royal Shakespeare Company - Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon and Barbican Theatre, London
• Hamlet by William Shakespeare (1995) - Role: Hamlet, with Francesca Annis as Gertrude - Directed by Jonathan Kent - The Almeida Theatre Company - Hackney Empire, London and Belasco Theatre on Broadway, NY
• Ivanov by Anton Chekhov translated by David Hare (February-April 1997) - Role: Ivanov - Directed by Jonathan Kent - The Almeida Theatre Company - Almeida Theatre, London
• Coriolanus by William Shakespeare (2000) - Role: Coriolanus - Directed by Jonathan Kent - The Almeida Theatre Company - Gainsborough Film Studios in Shoreditch, London and BAM Harvey Theatre in Brooklyn, New York City
• Richard II by William Shakespeare (2000) - Role: Richard II - Directed by Jonathan Kent - The Almeida Theatre Company - Gainsborough Film Studios in Shoreditch, London and BAM Harvey Theatre in Brooklyn, New York City
• The Play What I Wrote by Hamish McColl, Sean Foley and Eddie Braben (2001) - Role: Sir Ralph Fiennes - Directed by Kenneth Branagh - The Duo The Right Size - West End Wyndham's Theatre, London
• The Talking Cure by Christopher Hampton (2003) - Role: Carl Jung - Directed by Howard Davies - National Theatre's Cottesloe Theatre, London
• Brand by Henrik Ibsen (2003) - Role: Brand - Directed by Adrian Noble - The Royal Shakespeare Company - Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon and Theatre Royal Haymarket, London
• Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare (2005) - Role: Mark Anthony - Directed by Deborah Warner - Barbican Centre, London
• Faith Healer by Brian Friel (2006) - Role: Frank Hardy - Directed by Jonathan Kent - Gate Theatre, Dublin and Booth Theatre on Broadway, New York City
• First Love by Samuel Beckett - Sydney Festival 2007
• God of Carnage by Yasmina Reza (2008) - Role: Alain Reille - Gielgud Theatre, West End
• Oedipus by Sophocles (2008) - Role: Oedipus - National Theatre, London

Awards and nominations

Awards

• 1993 - NYFCC Award for Best Supporting Actor - Schindler's List
• 1994 - BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor - Schindler's List
• 1994 - NSFC Award, DFWFCA Award, and CFCA Award for Best Supporting Actor - Schindler's List
• 1995 - ALFS Award for British Actor of the Year - Schindler's List
• 1995 - Tony Award for Best Actor - Hamlet
• 1999 - European Film Award for Best Actor - Sunshine
• 2005 - Krzysztof Kieślowski Award for his body of work as a thespian
• 2006 - Honorary Fellowship of UCD Dramatic Society for services to theatre
• 2007 - Spike TV's 2007 Scream Awards for Most Vile Villain - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
• 2007 - The James Joyce Award of the Literary and Historical Society.Nominations
• 1994 - Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor - Schindler's List
• 1994 - Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture - Schindler's List
• 1994 - MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance - Schindler's List
• 1997 - Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role - The English Patient
• 1997 - BAFTA Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role - The English Patient
• 1997 - Golden Globe and Golden Satellite Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama - The English Patient
• 1997 - Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast - The English Patient
• 1999 - Annie Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement for Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production - The Prince of Egypt
• 1999 - Razzie Award for Worst Actor - The Avengers
• 1999 - Razzie Award for Worst Screen Couple (shared with Uma Thurman) - The Avengers
• 2000 - BAFTA Film Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role - The End of the Affair
• 2000 - Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role - Sunshine
• 2001 - ALFS Award for British Actor of the Year - The End of the Affair
• 2003 - Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor - Red Dragon
• 2003 - Teen Choice Award - Choice Movie Liplock (shared with Jennifer Lopez) - Maid in Manhattan
• 2006 - BAFTA Award - Best Actor - The Constant Gardener
• 2006 - Annie Awards - Best Voice/Animation - Wallace & Gromit - Curse of the Were-Rabbit
• 2006 - MTV Movie Awards - Best Villain - Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

References

External links

• BroadwayWorld Exclusive World Premiere: In Bruges Trailer
• Ralph Fiennes interview
• Fiennes' Hostess was an escort - News article about Ralph's mile high encounter
• Photos of Ralph Fiennes' visit to the College Historical Society