Ralph Fiennes

Ralph Fiennes

Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes (born 22 December 1962) is an English actor, film producer, and director. A Shakespeare interpreter, he first achieved success onstage at the Royal National Theatre. His portrayal of Nazi war criminal Amon Göth in Schindler’s List earned him nominations for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and Golden Globe Award. In 2011, Fiennes made his directorial debut with his film adaptation of Shakespeare’s tragedy Coriolanus, in which he also played the title character. In 2019 he received the Stanislavsky Award for his work behind the camera.

About Ralph Fiennes in brief

Summary Ralph FiennesRalph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes (born 22 December 1962) is an English actor, film producer, and director. A Shakespeare interpreter, he first achieved success onstage at the Royal National Theatre. His portrayal of Nazi war criminal Amon Göth in Schindler’s List earned him nominations for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and Golden Globe Award. In 2011, Fiennes made his directorial debut with his film adaptation of Shakespeare’s tragedy Coriolanus, in which he also played the title character. Fiennes starred in the Harry Potter film series, inWhich he played the franchise’s main antagonist, Lord Voldemort. He stars in the James Bond series, inwhich he has played Gareth Mallory M, starting with the 2012 film Skyfall. In 2019 he received the Stanislavsky Award for his work behind the camera, in 2019 he received theStanislavski Award. He is the eldest child of Mark Fiennes, a farmer and photographer, and Jennifer Lash, a writer. His grandfathers were industrialist Sir Maurice Fiennes and Brigadier Henry Alleyne Lash.

He has English, Irish, and Scottish ancestry. His surname is of Norman origin. Because his given name is pronounced reɪf, it is sometimes seen spelt as Rafe. His nephew, Hero Fiennes-Tiffin, played Tom Riddle, 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. He went on to pursue painting at Chelsea College of Art before deciding that acting was his true passion. He first worked on screen in 1990 and made his film debut in 1992 as Heathcliff in Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights opposite Juliette Binoche. He had a major role in Peter Greenaway’s film The Baby of Mâcon with Julia Ormond, which provoked controversy and was poorly received. In 1995, he won a Tony Award for playing Prince Hamlet on Broadway. He became known internationally for portraying the brutal Nazi concentration camp commandant Amon Göth in Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List.