Biography for
Ralph Fiennes More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

22 December 1962, Ipswich, Suffolk, England, UK

Birth Name

Ralph Nathaniel Fiennes

Height

6' (1.83 m)

Mini 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.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Gustaf Molin

Spouse

Alex Kingston

(September 1993 - 28 October 1997) (divorced)

Trade Mark

Rich, mellifluous voice.

Trivia

Name pronounced "Rafe Fines".

Ranked #34 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list. [October 1997]

Of the roughly one dozen actors to play "Hamlet" on Broadway, he is the first to win a Tony Award for doing so, in the 1995 Almeida Theatre production directed by Jonathan Kent.

Older brother of Martha Fiennes and Joseph Fiennes.

Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#33). [1995]

On 3 March 2001, he received the William Shakespeare Award from the Shakespeare Theatre in Washington DC. Past recipients include Mel Gibson, Patrick Stewart, Lynn Redgrave, Kenneth Branagh and Kevin Kline.

His uncle, Nicholas Lash, is a former priest and Cambridge theology professor, and his great-uncle, Dom Patrick Moore, is a Benedictine monk.

Partner Francesca Annis. [1995 - 2006]

Gained several pounds of muscle for his role in Red Dragon (2002).

His performance as Amon Goeth from his film Schindler's List (1993) was ranked #15 on the American Film Institute's Villains list in their compilation of the 100 years of The Greatest Screen Heroes and Villains.

Is the oldest of 6 children - younger siblings; Martha Fiennes (b. 1964), Magnus Hubert Fiennes (b. 1965), Sophia Victoria Fiennes (b. 1967) and Jacob Mark Fiennes & Joseph Fiennes (fraternal twins) (b. 27 May 1970). He also has a foster brother, Michael Emery (b. 31 Dec 1952) who has been with the family since he was 11.

A Member of the RADA Council.

He and his The End of the Affair (1999) co- star Julianne Moore have acted in separate Hannibal Lecter films: he in Red Dragon (2002) and she in Hannibal (2001).

His tattoo in Red Dragon (2002) took eight hours to apply.

Appears in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007) with Gary Oldman. Both of them have played villains in the Hannibal Lecter films: Fiennes played Francis Dolarhyde in Red Dragon (2002), and Oldman played Mason Verger in Hannibal (2001).

4th cousin of Lord Saye & Sele, owner of Broughton Castle, which appears in Shakespeare in Love (1998) as Viola's house.

8th cousin of Prince Charles.

Fiennes was reluctant to take the role of Lord Voldemort in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005). In a television interview on AMC's "Sunday Morning Shootout" (2003) (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 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!'".

He was considered for the role of Robert Langdon in The Da Vinci Code (2006). Tom Hanks was cast instead.

Appeared in two Best Picture winners from the 1990s: Schindler's List (1993) and The English Patient (1996).

Broke up with Francesca Annis [February 7, 2006].

Has appeared in two Best Picture winners (Schindler's List (1993) and The English Patient (1996)), and a Best Animated Feature winner (Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005)).

He and his brother, Joseph Fiennes, have both worked with Cate Blanchett (Oscar and Lucinda (1997) and Elizabeth (1998)), Rachel Weisz (The Constant Gardener (2005) and Enemy at the Gates (2001)) and Liv Tyler (Onegin (1999) and Stealing Beauty (1996)).

When he noticed that children watching the filming were scared of him as "Voldemort" in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005), he knew he had the character right.

His performance as "Amon Goeth" in Schindler's List (1993) is ranked #61 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Performances of All Time (2006).

He turned down the lead role in The Saint (1997).

Filmed his role as Lord Voldemort in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) (2005) in only two days.

His nephew, Hero Fiennes-Tiffin, will be playing the 11-year-old version of his character Tom Riddle a.k.a. "Lord Voldemort" in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009).

Good friends with Jay-Z.

Huge fan of Professional Wrestling.

He was a guest of a Belgrade Film Festival - FEST 2009.

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".

Friend of the late Natasha Richardson.

Friend of Liam Neeson.

Personal Quotes

It's 'Rafe', actually.

When children were introduced to Lord Voldemort, they looked suitably terrified. Which gave me great gratification.

As an actor, a part of you expects to be looked at. A part of you wants to be looked at. But when I'm playing a part, in my imagined world, I feel I'm not me. I may be using bits of me, but I love the sense that I'm being someone else.

Awards are like applause, and every actor likes to hear applause.

The process of making a film is a mad lottery. Whenever you get the feeling that you're making something special, you have to quickly squash it because you are so often proved wrong.

"I think it's a badge of honor to have a real flop on your resume" - about The Avengers

I tried not to play Voldemort over the top, and then I realized there's no other way.

I veer away from trying to understand why I act. I just know I need to do it.

The people I consider successful are so because of how they handle their responsibilities to other people, how they approach the future, people who have a full sense of the value of their life and what they want to do with it. I call people successful not because they have money or their business is doing well but because, as human beings, they have a fully developed sense of being alive and engaged in a lifetime task of collaboration with other human beings -- their mothers and fathers, their family, their friends, their loved ones, the friends who are dying, the friends who are being born. Success.. is all about being able to extend love to people... not in a big, capital letter sense but in the everyday. Little by little, task by task, gesture by gesture, word by word.

[on the death of Natasha Richardson] I cannot imagine a world without her wit, her love, her mischief, her great, great talent and her gift for living. I loved her very much. She was a supreme friend. I shall miss her deeply.

Where Are They Now

(April 2005) Stars in Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar" as Mark Antony at London's Barbican Centre, in a production by Deborah Warner with Fiona Shaw (Calpurnia) and John Shrapnel (Caesar). The production will be on tour to France and Spain later this year with the same cast.

(June 2006) Currently appearing in the title role of Brian Friel's "Faith Healer", at the Booth Theatre on Broadway. The revival co-stars 'Cherry Jones' and Ian McDiarmid, who won a Tony for best supporting actor. Ralph received a Tony nomination.

(August 2008) Belgrade (Serbia), sightseeing locations for filming "Coriolanus", Shakespeare play set in modern time.

(October 2008) Appearing in the London West End production of Oedipus as the title character

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