| Ralph Fiennes | |
|---|---|
 Outside of the Booth Theater stage door in New York City |
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| Born | Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes 22 December 1962 Suffolk, England, UK |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1990–present |
| Spouse(s) | Alex Kingston (1993-1997) (divorced) |
Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes,[1] known simply as Ralph Fiennes (pronounced /ˈreɪf ˈfaɪnz/; born 22 December 1962), is an English actor. He has appeared in films such as Schindler's List, The English Patient, In Bruges, The Constant Gardener, Strange Days, Maid in Manhattan and the Harry Potter films as Lord Voldemort. Most recently he appeared in The Hurt Locker. Fiennes has won a Tony Award and has been nominated twice for Academy Awards. In 2001, Fiennes received the William Shakespeare Award from the Shakespeare Theatre in Washington, D.C.
Fiennes is a UNICEF UK ambassador.[2]
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Fiennes was born in Ipswich, Suffolk, England, into an English aristocratic family, the son of Mark Fiennes (1933-2004), a farmer and photographer (and son of industrialist Sir Maurice Fiennes 1907-1994), and Jennifer Lash (1938-1993), a writer.[3] His surname is of Norman noble origin.[4] He is an eighth cousin of HRH the Prince of Wales, and a third cousin of the adventurer Sir Ranulph Fiennes. The eldest of seven children, his siblings are actor Joseph Fiennes (Shakespeare in Love, Luther, FlashForward); Martha Fiennes, a director (in her film Onegin, he played the title role); Magnus Fiennes, a composer; Sophie Fiennes, a filmmaker; Jacob Fiennes, a conservationist; and his foster brother Michael Emery, an archaeologist. In 1992 Fiennes himself was involved in the discovery of Ubar, an archeological site near the southern coast of Oman. His nephew Hero Fiennes-Tiffin has also played a role as a young Lord Voldemort in Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.
The Fiennes family moved to Ireland in 1973, living in West Cork and County Kilkenny for some years. Fiennes was educated at St Kieran's College for one year, followed by Newtown School, a Quaker independent school in Waterford. They moved to Salisbury in England, where Fiennes finished his schooling at Bishop Wordsworth's School before attending Chelsea College of Art.[5]
Fiennes trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. He began his career at the Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park and, also during the late 1980s, the National Theatre before becoming a star in the Royal Shakespeare Company.[4] Fiennes first worked on screen in 1990 and then 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 his "breakout year". He had a major role in the controversial Peter Greenaway film The Baby of Mâcon with Julia Ormond. Though the film was poorly received, Fiennes' career suffered no lasting consequences. 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.[4] 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 list of Top 50 Movie Villains. To look suitable to represent Amon Göth Fiennes gained considerable weight, but he managed to shed that fat afterwards.[6]
In 1994, he portrayed American academic Charles Van Doren in Quiz Show. In 1996 he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for the World War II-epic romance The English Patient in which he starred with Kristin Scott-Thomas.[4] 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. He kept the role for both Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, which will be released in two parts in 2010 and 2011. However, in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, where Voldemort is an 11 year-old, the character is was played by Hero Fiennes-Tiffin, Fiennes' nephew.
The Constant Gardener was released in 2005 with Fiennes in the title role.[4] The film is set in Kenya, dealing in part with poor people in the slums of Kibera and Loiyangalani. The situation affected the crew to the extent that they set up the Constant Gardener Trust to provide basic education for children of these villages. Fiennes is a patron of the charity.[7] His 2006 performance in the play Faith Healer gained him a nomination for a 2007 Tony Award.
In 2008 Fiennes worked with frequent collaborator director Jonathan Kent to play the title role in Sophocles' Oedipus the King at the National Theatre in London. He played the Duke of Devonshire in the film The Duchess (2008). He will also appear in a 2010 West End revival of Uncle Vanya.
In February 2009 he was the special guest of the Belgrade's Film Festival FEST. He plans to make a movie in Serbian capital of Belgrade in 2010 after a Shakespeare book.[8]
He reunited with Kathryn Bigelow for her Iraq War opus, The Hurt Locker, released in 2009, appearing as an English mercenary. In May 2010 he will take on the role of Hades while Liam Neeson will take on the role of Zeus in Clash of the Titans, a remake of the 1981 film of the same name. This will be the second movie Fiennes and Neeson in which play opposite each other, as they did in the 1993 film Schindler's List.
Fiennes met English actress Alex Kingston while they were both students at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. After dating for ten years, they married in 1993. They divorced in 1997.
In 1995, Fiennes began a relationship with Francesca Annis, an actress 18 years his senior, who played his mother Gertrude in the play Hamlet, where they met. After 11 years together, the couple separated in February 2006. Tabloid reports claimed Fiennes had had an affair with Romanian singer Cornelia Crisan.[9]
In February 2007, staff aboard a Qantas flight from Sydney, Australia to Mumbai, India caught the actor leaving the same aeroplane lavatory as 38-year-old flight attendant Lisa Robertson. At first denying allegations of a tryst, Robertson later confessed to having sex in the lavatory with Fiennes, whom she had met just hours before. Fiennes was en route to Mumbai, as a participant in AIDS awareness efforts for UNICEF. The organisation retained Fiennes as an ambassador. Qantas fired Robertson.[10]
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| Ralph Fiennes | |
|---|---|
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File:2003-10-06 ralph fiennes in Ralph Fiennes gives autographs to fans during his visit to Kyrgyzstan as a UNICEF ambassador. | |
| Born |
Ralph Nathaniel Fiennes December 22, 1962 Suffolk, England |
| Years active | 1990-present |
| Spouse | Alex Kingston (1993-1997) |
Ralph Fiennes, is an English actor, born 22 December 1962 in Ipswich, Suffolk, England, who won the Tony Award and was nominated for the Academy Award for his work in Steven Spielberg's movie Schindler's List, and the Genie Award. His parents are Jennifer Lash and Mark Fiennes. His brothers and sisters are Joseph Fiennes, Sophie Fiennes, Martha Fiennes, Magnus Fiennes and Jacob Fiennes.
  | News for Ralph Fiennes - Ralph Fiennes - News |
| | Movie/Tv News - 12 February 2007 - Movie & TV News @ IMDb.com - WENN - 12 February 2007 |
| | Constant Gardener Trust - Patrons - The Constant Gardener Trust Patrons |
| | 'How I led Ralph Fiennes astray at 35,000ft' - Exclusive: 'How I led Ralph Fiennes astray at 35,000ft' | Mail Online |
| | Fiennes' Hostess was an escort - News article about Ralph's mile high encounter - Fiennes&squo; hostess was an escort | The Daily Telegraph |
| | 'Brothel sacks mile high hostie' - Brothel sacks mile-high hostie - National - theage.com.au |
| | Story About Mile Height Stewardess Being Fired - Qantas sacks stewardess over mile-high fling with Fiennes | Mail Online |
| | Ralph Fiennes Biography - Ralph Fiennes Biography (1962-) |
| | Person Page 18418 - thePeerage.com - Person Page 18418 |
| | BroadwayWorld Exclusive World Premiere: In Bruges Trailer - Exclusive World Premiere: In Bruges Trailer |
| | Discuss Ralph Fiennes' work - Ralph Fiennes Forum - Message Board - Yuku |
| | The Constant Gardener review - Review: The Constant Gardener | FilmDailies.com - A filmmaker's blog |
| | Sex hostie: 'It was worth it' - Sex hostie: &squo;It was worth it&squo; | The Daily Telegraph |
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