Ralph
Fiennes 101Ralph
Fiennes 101Ralph Fiennes was born December 22, 1962, in Ipswich at Ipswich and East Anglia General Hospital, Suffolk England. His full name is Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham Fiennes. His name is pronounced "Rafe Fines". The pronunciation of his first name is based on an old English pronunciation of Ralph. Ralph's parents, Jini (who passed away in 1993) and Mark, went on to have six more children: Martha, Magnus, Sophie, Joseph and Jacob (twins), and adopted a son, Michael.
While growing up, Ralph lived in many different places. His parents moved around quite a bit, because their main means of making money to support the family was fixing up houses and reselling them. He lived in various places in Suffolk (Wangford, Blythburgh), as his parents attempted to make a living at farming. Later, they moved to Sheep's Head Peninsula, County Cork, Ireland. Once in Ireland, Ralph and his siblings were home schooled by their mother. One of Ralph's favorite things to do was play at a toy theatre his parents gave him.
When Ralph was an adolescent, his parents moved yet again to Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. Ralph attended Bishop Wordsworth, a private boys school. While in secondary school, he participated in plays, and excelled in art.
After finishing secondary school, Ralph decided to pursue his passion for art. He went to the Chelsea school of art in London. Ralph attended the art school for about a year, but realized that his true passion was for acting rather than painting.
Ralph was accepted into the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in 1983. Some of his famous classmates were Iain Glenn, Jane Horrocks, and Imogen Stubbs. He received an honors diploma in 1985, and won the Shakespeare Schools Prize. It was while he attended RADA, that he met his now ex-wife Alex Kingston.
After finishing at RADA, Ralph pursued his acting career in repertory theatre. After paying his dues in various plays, he took a job at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre. He acted in Romeo and Juliet and A Midsummer Night's Dream. He then moved on to performing at the National Theatre. He acted in Six Characters in Search of an Author, Fathers and Sons, and Ting Tang Mine. After leaving the National Theatre, Ralph auditioned for the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC). During his four seasons with the RSC, Ralph acted in Much Ado About Nothing, King John, The Plantagenets, The Man Who Came to Dinner, Playing With Trains, and Troilus and Cressida among others. In 1991, the RSC "let Fiennes go", because they didn't have any roles left for him to play.
Ralph's first onscreen appearance was on Prime Suspect. He then acted in "Wuthering Heights" as Heathcliff, and as T.E. Lawrence in A Dangerous Man: Lawrence After Arabia. His next films were The Cormorant, and The Baby of Macon. In 1993, Ralph performed in Schindler's List, and earned an Oscar nomination for his role as the evil, Nazi commander, Amon Goeth. While Ralph didn't win the Oscar, he won a host of other honors, such as the BAFTA (British Oscars), New York Critic's Circle and National Society of Film Critic's Best Supporting Actor Awards. Unfortunately the sweetness of such a year of achievement was made bittersweet by the death of his mother, Jini Fiennes, who lost her battle with breast cancer December 28, 1993.
Shortly after finishing filming Schindler's List, Ralph lost weight and stepped into the shoes of his new character, Charles Van Doren, in Quiz Show. Ralph lived up to the role of a young literary professor, corrupted by the fame and fortune of a fifties game show. With this role, Ralph gained more popularity and recognition with American audiences, and began to taste his first reality of being a celebrity.
Ralph's next role was a not so predictable turn back to his roots in the theatre. Ralph decided to perform in Hamlet in London. The performance was critically acclaimed, and the play later moved to Broadway. He won a Tony award for his performance in Hamlet. It was during Hamlet, that Ralph had an affair with Francesca Annis, who was playing the role of Hamlet's mother. He eventually separated from Alex Kingston, and continued his relationship with Annis, who is 17 years older than Ralph
Ironically, October 13, 1995, the same day his divorce with Alex Kingston finalized, Ralph's next film, Strange Days released. In Strange Days, a futuristic thriller, Ralph played the role of an ex-cop, selling people's experiences recorded from their minds onto discs. His chemistry with Angela Basset sizzled, but unfortunately the film flopped critically.
His next role would cinch his place in history as one of the best actors of all time. Ralph played Count Laszlo de Almasy, in the film The English Patient, which was based on the novel The English Patient, by Michael Ondaatje. His success portraying the burn victim/ brooding count, earned him yet another Oscar nomination, this time as Best Actor. Unfortunately, he was denied the Oscar once again.
After The English Patient, Ralph turned once again to the theatre, performing in the Chekhov play, Ivanov. Ralph received critical acclaim for the role. His next film, Oscar and Lucinda, while not widely released, was well received by his fans. However, his following major motion picture role, as John Steed in The Avengers, was both critically and commercially unsuccessful. In March 1999, Ralph played the voice of Ramses in Dreamwork's the Prince of Egypt. His venture into animation was quite successful, and he even sang a song.
In 1999, Ralph appeared in three films: Onegin, based on the Pushkin story, Eugene Onegin; Sunshine, playing three generations of men in the same family, and in The End of the Affair, based on the novel by Graham Greene, directed by Niel Jordan.
In 2000 he performed double Shakespeare roles successfully in London and New York. He played Coriolanus and Richard II. After completing his roles he filmed Spider with David Cronenberg, Red Dragon, and Maid in Manhattan. After critical success in Spider and modest commercial success in Red Dragon and Maid in Manhattan, he returned to theatre once again, performing in The Talking Cure and Brand in London in 2002-2003.
Upcoming projects include filming The Constant Gardener based on a Le Carre novel, The White Countess by Merchant/Ivory, and an ensemble film Chumscrubber. It is rumored he will return to his Hamlet role in 2005 with Brand director Adrien Noble.
Ralph's pattern of developing quality films, followed by faithful returns to his theatre roots seems to keep his career rejuvenated and his fans coming back for more.
If you would like to write to Ralph Fiennes, send your letters to:
Ralph Fiennes
c/o Mail Man
15030 Ventura Blvd
PO Box 1-710
Sherman Oaks, CA 91403
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Any questions regarding this web site, or questions about Ralph, his fans, etc.,
may be addressed to: Mary K. at fiennesite@yahoo.com
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