An actor with an unusual name and courageous appearance is known to many fans of cinema. Films with Rafe Fiennes, charming and talented, can impress even an extremely critical audience - the actorâs track record has many dramatic roles. How did he come up with the idea to choose just such a career and what does he do in his spare time from filming?
Actorâs childhood
The real name of the British star is Ralph Nathaniel Twistleton-Wyckham-Fiennes. He was born in Ipswich, located in the English county of Suffolk, UK. The actorâs parents were creative people, but they had no relation to the world of cinema: father Mark Fiennes is a famous photographer, and Rafeâs mother, Jennifer Lash, is a writer and artist. The family had many children - seven. Fiennes has three younger brothers, whose names are Joseph, Magnus and Jacob, as well as two younger sisters, Martha and Sophie. In addition, there is brother Michael, whom Fiennes's parents adopted at the age of eleven. Relatives of the family is the British royal family. However, the glorious and ancient family of English aristocrats did not seem to have a special chance to become famous. Everything changed only with the advent of Rafe, after which other extremely talented children were born in the family . So the Fiennes family became famous throughout the world.
The path to an acting career
The father of the family was not limited to photography and was engaged in the repair of houses, because of which the family was constantly moving. Rafe could not make friends, many classmates simply seemed boring to him. When Ralph Fiennes graduated from high school, the family went to London. There he entered college, where he devoted himself to the study of art and design. But the vocation could not but make itself felt - he soon entered the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. This institution is the most prestigious place for training in the acting profession in the UK. In 1986, he completed his studies and began working at the Royal National Theater.
First roles
Right after graduation, Ralph Fiennes began to get good roles. In the troupe of the Royal National Theater, he was lucky to play in productions under the titles âHenry Sixâ, âThe Vain Efforts of Loveâ and âKing Learâ. And already in 1990, the actor first appeared in the cinema. His first role was participation in the mini-series "The main suspect", whose creators received Emmy and BAFTA awards for their work. The beginning of a career was successfully laid. In 1992, Rafe starred in the film "Wuthering Heights" based on the novel of the same name by Emily Bronte, and in 1993 he got a role in the film "Child of the Macon". Each of the works was successful, but they did not bring widespread fame to the actor. The situation changed somewhat when Ralph Fiennes took part in the movie Dangerous Man: Lawrence after Arabia, where he played the main character, Thomas Edward Lawrence. For this work, the actor received the first award - âEmmyâ.
Dramatic image
1993 brought not only an award. In the same year, aspiring actor Ralph Fiennes was spotted by Steven Spielberg. The director offered the British a role in his large-scale project called Schindler's List. Rafe was to reincarnate as a cruel Nazi, the commandant of the concentration camp Amon Goethe. A difficult role justified every minute of effort - Ralph Fiennes became a world famous actor. In addition, he was very much appreciated in a variety of film academies. He received an Oscar, Golden Globe and BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor, MTV Movie Awards for Breakthrough of the Year and awards from the film critic communities of Boston, Fort Worth, Chicago and London. Many newspapers and magazines wrote about Rife, and even those who did not see other films with the actor, remembered his name after Schindler's List, which over the years became a cult.
Ups and downs
Spielbergâs successful role has changed everything. Ralph Fiennes, whose roles were previously very worthy, became a real star. In 1994, he took part in a historical tape called "Quiz". In 1995, James Cameron's film "Strange Days" was released, in which the actor played Lenny Nero. For this image, he received the Saturn Award in the nomination of Best Actor. The next year was particularly successful - Rafe played in the melodrama "The English Patient", based on the novel of the same name. The work turned out to be so impressive that the actor received three prizes for it at once - Golden Globes, Oscars and an award from BAFTA. In the same year, he also managed to star in the BBC mini-series about the First World War. 1997 th pleased the audience with an Oscar and Lucinda tape, where the actor got the main role. But there were failures. In 1998, Ralph Fiennes, whose filmography included exceptionally successful films, starred in a comedy action movie called The Avengers. This work was a failure - the acting duet with Uma Thurman was considered one of the worst, for which the tape was nominated for Golden Raspberry.
Ten years on screen
Ralph Fiennes, whose filmography began in the early nineties, managed to star in many different films over a decade. After a failure with Avengers, he quickly rehabilitated his image as a talented actor, starring in the film adaptation of Pushkin's novel Eugene Onegin. The director on the set was his sister Marta. In addition, in the same year, Fiennes took part in the voice acting for the first time, working on the animated film "The Prince of Egypt." In 1999, âTaste of Sunshineâ was released, where the actor, who began his career as a Nazi, played a Hungarian Jew during the Holocaust. In the same year, the film âThe End of the Novelâ was released, and in 2000, Fiennes pleased the fans with the appearance in the television films âThe Miracle Workerâ and âHow Proust Can Change Your Lifeâ.
New millennium
At one ten years of work, Ralph Fiennes did not stop and did not think. Therefore, the 2002th pleased the audience immediately with four ribbons with their favorite actor. In "Spider", based on the novel by Patrick McGrath, Rafe played a mentally unstable person, and in "Red Dragon" he had to completely transform into a killer maniac. In âMaid of the Maidâ and âGood Thiefâ, the characters of the actor were much more calm and familiar. In 2004, he worked on the set of the movie "Hollywood and the Holocaust", and in 2005 he again turned out to be tense - six films were released right away. At the beginning of the year, âCharmskrabberâ and âChromophobiaâ appeared on the screens, and then âThe devoted gardenerâ attracted the attention of film critics. For the role of Justin Quail, Fiennes received the BAFTA Award, and the film itself was nominated by the Academy Award several times for the Academy Award. For âWallace and Gromitâ Rafe again tried himself in the voice acting. After the premiere of "The White Countess", a new part of the worldwide popular wizard boy franchise was released.
Magic on the set
In the movie Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the actor played the evil magician Voldemort. For this image, Ralph Fiennes, whose filmography had not previously included such films, received an award from the MTV Movie Awards in the category "Best Movie Villain." For filming, a complex multi-layer makeup was used, but even in such conditions, the actor managed to show his artistry. It is not surprising that all subsequent parts of the franchise enjoyed continued success. In 2007, the fifth was released under the title âHarry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,â and three years later the final of two films, âHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallowsâ I and II, appeared on the screens. Together with the actor, such stars as Helena Bonham-Carter and Alan Rickman took part in the films, and the franchise gave the young Radcliffe, Grint and Watson the way to the world of cinema.
Roles of recent years
Ralph Fiennes, whose photographs continually appear on posters, does not lose popularity. In 2010, he starred in the theatrical film "Coriolanus", where he also tried himself as a director and producer, and the company on the set was Tom Hiddleston, the star of the Torah franchise. 2012 pleased the audience not only with the "Wrath of the Titans" and "Great Expectations", but also with the new part of Bondiana with the participation of Fiennes. In addition, in the film "The Invisible Woman", the actor played Charles Dickens himself. In 2014, the movie âHotel Grand Budapestâ was released, which immediately turned out to be extremely successful. On TV, the premieres of the films âTurks and Caicosâ and âSalt Battlefieldâ took place. The film âTwo Womenâ is planned to be released in the same year, âBond-24â is scheduled for 2015, and a year later fans should expect âFlying Horseâ, in which Ralph Fiennes also plays the main role.
The personal life of the actor
In 1993, the British married an actress named Alex Kingston. The relationship between them began while still in college. But the actor could not play the role of an exemplary family man for a long time - soon he began a relationship with Francesca Annis, an actress who is seventeen years older than Fiennes. The wife could not put up with this situation for a long time, and the marriage ended in divorce after four years of marriage, in 1997. After that, Ralph Fiennes and his women did not attract the attention of the public - the new relationship of the actor remained in the shadow, the actor did not intend to marry a second time. In 1995, Empire magazine included him in the hundred of the sexiest men in cinema, and in 1997 he was recognized as one of the hundred best movie stars in history. Perhaps his heart is free, fans in love are guessing, but Fiennes himself does not give any information on this. Relatives of the actor are busy in the world of cinema, so Rafe now and then encounters brothers or sisters on the set. The younger brother Joseph played in the melodrama "Shakespeare in Love" by Shakespeare himself. Sister Marta became a filmmaker, and even filmed an older brother in one of her tapes. Sophie works as a producer, and Magnus became a composer. Only Jacob decided to stay away from creative professions and chose to become a forester. With Martha, the actor is closest. It was she who shared his ideas about cinema. However, unlike Rafe, the sister manages to combine life in art with family life - Martha has a beloved husband and children. In his free time, the actor participates in various UNICEF programs, of which he is a goodwill messenger.