Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennesnote (born 22 December 1962 in Ipswich, England) is an Academy Award-nominatednote Shakespearian English stage and film actor, producer, and director.
He gained much prominence after his breakout roles in Schindler's List and The English Patient. He has also shown up as a lead actor in foreign-language films, such as the 1999 Hungarian movie Sunshine, and later took on roles with considerable mainstream exposure such as Lord Voldemort in the Harry Potter films and Gareth Mallory (the replacement of Judi Dench as M) in the James Bond movies, starting with Skyfall for the latter.
In 2011, he directed a critically acclaimed modern-day adaptation of Coriolanus starring himself alongside Jessica Chastain, Gerard Butler, Vanessa Redgrave, and Brian Cox.
He is the older brother of fellow actor Joseph Fiennes (they are distantly related to the famed explorer Sir Ranulph Twistleton-Wykeham-Fiennes, 3rd Baronet) and the maternal uncle of Hero Fiennes Tiffin (who played young Tom Riddle in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince). They are descended from the ancient Fiennes family whose senior branch holds the title Baron Saye and Sele, which has had many prominent members over the centuries (one of their ancestors was a major Puritan Parliamentary leader during the Civil Wars, and the town of Old Saybrook in Connecticut is named for the family title).
Notable roles include:
- Wuthering Heights (1992) - Heathcliff
- The Baby of Mâcon (1993) - The Bishop's Son
- Schindler's List (1993) - Amon Göth
- Quiz Show (1994) - Charles Van Doren
- Strange Days (1995) - Lenny Nero
- The English Patient (1996) - The Patient, real name Count László de Almássy
- The Prince of Egypt (1998) - Ramses II (voice)
- The Avengers (1998) - John Steed
- Sunshine (1999) - Ignatz Sonnenschein (Sors) / Adam Sors / Ivan Sors
- The End of the Affair (1999) - Maurice Bendrix
- The Miracle Maker (1999) - Jesus Christ (voice)
- Red Dragon (2002) - Francis Dolarhyde
- Maid in Manhattan (2002) - Christopher Marshall
- Spider (2002) - Dennis "Spider" Clegg
- The Good Thief (2002) - Tony Angel (uncredited)
- The Chumscrubber (2005) - Michael Ebbs
- The Constant Gardener (2005) - Justin Quayle
- The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005) - Victor Quartermaine (voice)
- Harry Potter series - Tom Marvolo Riddle / Lord Voldemort
- In Bruges (2008) - Harry Waters
- The Reader (2008) - Older Michael Berg
- The Duchess (2008) - William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire
- The Hurt Locker (2009) - Contractor Team Leader
- Clash of the Titans (2010) and Wrath of the Titans (2012) - Hades
- Coriolanus (2011) - Coriolanus (also directed and produced)
- James Bond - Gareth Mallory/M
- Skyfall (2012)
- Spectre (2015)
- No Time to Die (2021)
- The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) - M. Gustave H
- Hail, Caesar! (2016) - Laurence Laurentz, a film director.
- Kubo and the Two Strings (2016) - The Moon King (voice)
- The LEGO Batman Movie (2017) - Alfred Pennyworth (voice)
- Holmes & Watson (2018) - Moriarty
- Dolittle (2020) - Barry the Tiger (voice)
- The Dig (2021) - Basil Brown
- The King's Man (2021) - Duke of Oxford
- The Forgiven (2021) - David Henninger
- The Menu (2022) - Chef Slowik
- Wes Anderson's Roald Dahl short films (2023) - Roald Dahl
- Conclave (2024) - Thomas Cardinal Lawrence
- The Return (2024) as Odysseus
- 28 Days Later Series - Dr. Ian Kelson
- 28 Years Later (2025)
- 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (2026)
- The Choral (2025) - Dr. Henry Guthrie
- The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping (2026) - President Coriolanus Snow
Provides examples of
- Chronically Killed Actor: Most famously as Amon Göth and Voldemort but he's been axed off in quite a few of his films.
- Directed by Cast Member: Ralph Fiennes starred in, directed, and produced a 2011 film adaption of the William Shakespeare play Coriolanus, co-starring with Gerard Butler and Jessica Chastain.
- Dyeing for Your Art: He put on 28 pounds to play one of his major breakout roles, Amon Göth.
- Evil Sounds Deep: He plays a lot of villainous roles which make good use of his smooth, regal voice.
- I Am Very British: He has a refined, Received Pronunciation accent which he carries over to most of his roles and which is made even more impressive sounding by his smooth voice.
- Icy Blue Eyes: In the Harry Potter films, Fiennes kept his natural blue eyes as Voldemort, in contrast to the books and the Dark Lord's description of having red eyes.
- Identical Stranger: To a Tear Jerker degree. On the set of Schindler's List, when consultant and Holocaust survivor Mila Pfefferberg met Fiennes, she soon after began shaking nervously and uncontrollably because Fiennes reminded her, to an uncanny degree, of the real Amon Göth, whom he was portraying in the film.
- Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping: While undoubtedly a fantastic actor, he's never really managed to get the American accent right, coming closest in "Quiz Show" where he was playing the upper-class WASP Charles Van Doren. Other roles have him do a passable accent but often struggling and with enough slips to give the game away.
- Playing Against Type: An invoked example. After his Star-Making Role as Amon Göth, Fiennes didn't want to become typecast in villainous roles. Fortunately, he was able to portray the handsome, charming, charismatic Charles Van Doren in Quiz Show in a role that won him further acclaim and showcased his acting range.
- Quintessential British Gentleman: A master of this trope both in theatre and in many of his film roles.
- Star-Derailing Role: After his rise to stardom with Schindler's List and following a series of well-received projects including Quiz Show, The English Patient and The Prince of Egypt his career took a massive hit with The Avengers, which also derailed the careers of co-stars Uma Thurman and Sean Connery for good measure. While he kept working it wasn't until 2005 that he regained the same level of prominence between The Constant Gardener and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
- Star-Making Role: He shot to international prominence with his portrayal of Amon Göth in Schindler's List, which drew glowing critical praise for his performance and notched him an Academy Award nomination.
- Time-Shifted Actor: In The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, playing Coriolanus Snow in his late fifties, Donald Sutherland having portrayed him in the first four films where he's in his early eighties.