Ralph Fiennes

Name pronounced "Rafe Fines".

(October 1997) Ranked #34 in Empire magazines "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list.

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.

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

On 3 March 2001, he received the William Shakespeare Award from the Shakespeare Theatre in Washington, D.C. 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.

(1995 - 2006) Partner Francesca Annis.

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

His performance as Amon Goeth from his film Schindlers List was ranked #15 on the American Film Institutes 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 Fiennes (b. 1965), Sophie Fiennes (b. 1967) and Jacob Mark Fiennes & Joseph Fiennes (b. 27 May 1970). He also has a foster brother, Michael Emery (b. 31 December 1952) who has been with the family since he was 11.

An Associate Member of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA).

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

His tattoo in Red Dragon took eight hours to apply.

Has appeared in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix with Gary Oldman. Both of them have played villains in the Hannibal Lecter films: Fiennes played Francis Dolarhyde in Red Dragon , and Oldman played Mason Verger in Hannibal .

4th cousin of Lord Saye & Sele, owner of Broughton Castle, which appears in Shakespeare in Love as Violas house.

8th cousin of Prince Charles.

Fiennes was reluctant to take the role of Lord Voldemort in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire . In a television interview on AMCs "Sunday Morning Shootout" (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 , which went to Tom Hanks.

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

Has appeared in three Best Picture winners ( Schindlers List , The English Patient and The Hurt Locker ), and a Best Animated Feature winner ( The Curse of the Were-Rabbit ).

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

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

His performance as "Amon Goeth" in Schindlers List is ranked #61 on Premiere Magazines 100 Greatest Performances of All Time .

He was considered for the role of Simon Templar in The Saint , which went to Val Kilmer.

Filmed his role as Lord Voldemort in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire 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 .

Has shared two roles with Peter OToole. They have both played Hamlet on stage, and both made their film debut playing T.E. Lawrence.

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".

Friends with Liam Neeson and the late Natasha Richardson.

The Hurt Locker marks the third best picture Oscar winning film that Ralph Fiennes has co-starred in. In addition, the other two, Schindlers List ; Best Supporting Actor Oscar nominee) and The English Patient ; Best Actor Oscar nominee), were also dramas set during wartime.

Has appeared twice on the cover of GQ magazine: August 94 and July 98.

When appearing on "Inside the Actors Studio" , Julianne Moore named him as her favorite leading man. They appeared together in The End of the Affair .

(August 2011) London, UK: Playing lead role of Prospero in Trevor Nunns production of The Tempest at the Royal Haymarket Theatre.

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

(August 2013) New York, NY: It was announced that he, as well as Cate Blanchett , will be honored by gala tributes (separately) in October by the Film Society of Lincoln Center during its annual film festival.

(April 2005) Stars in Shakespeares "Julius Caesar" as Mark Antony at Londons 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.

He has English, Irish, and Scottish ancestry. Many of his recent ancestors lived in India, during the British colonial period. He has said that his surname, "Fiennes", is of Norman origin.

As of 2015, has appeared in six films that were nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: Schindlers List , Quiz Show , The English Patient , The Reader , The Hurt Locker and The Grand Budapest Hotel . Of those, Schindlers List , The English Patient and The Hurt Locker are winners in the category.

Was considered for the role of James Bond years before being cast as Gareth Mallory in Skyfall .

Has starred in 3 films with good friend Kristin Scott Thomas : The English Patient , Chromophobia and The Invisible Woman .

Appeared in three movies with Tilda Swinton : The Grand Budapest Hotel , A Bigger Splash and Hail, Caesar! .

He has worked with 7 directors who have won a Best Director Oscar: Steven Spielberg , Robert Redford , Kathryn Bigelow , Anthony Minghella , Sam Mendes , and Joel Coen & Ethan Coen.

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

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

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.

My mother wrote six novels and then another book about a trip to,pilgrimage centres in France. She also painted. She was her own,thinker; highly individual in the way she approached just who you are.

Have I smoked marijuana? Yes. I think most people have had a drag on a,joint.

Once in a while I like to watch some silly comedy, usually on airplanes.

Vodka martinis are better stirred, not shaken.

One of the things that binds us as a family is a shared sense of humor.

So much of movie acting is in the lighting. And in loving your characters. I try to know them, and with that intimacy comes love. And now, I love Voldemort.