Ralph Fiennes Was Drawn to the Nuances of ‘Conclave’ (2024)

1962-present
  • Who Is Ralph Fiennes?
  • Quick Facts
  • Young Ralph Fiennes
  • Movies
  • Directing Work
  • Ex-Wife
  • Net Worth
  • Quotes

Latest News: Ralph Fiennes Stars in Conclave

Ralph Fiennes gets to pick the new pope in the upcoming thriller Conclave. The Oscar-nominated actor portrays a fictional cardinal who uncovers damaging secrets about the Vatican while overseeing the selection process for the next pope. The new movie, which also stars Stanley Tucci and John Lithgow, arrives in theaters October 25.

On the red carpet at the 2024 Zurich Film Festival this month, Fiennes shared that he gravitated toward Conclave because it offers a “nuanced” perspective on the Catholic Church. “This script was not a simplistic attack on the church,” the 61-year-old said. “Degrees of corruption are possible in any big structure, hierarchical structure. We know this happens. And the Vatican, I’m sure, has its players who are motivated perhaps not by the highest motives, but it’s human.”

Who Is Ralph Fiennes?

British actor Ralph Fiennes has received Academy Award nominations for his performances in the 1993 historical drama Schindler’s List and the 1996 war romance The English Patient. First working in theater, Fiennes transitioned to movie roles in the early 1990s. His 100-plus acting credits include turns as Lord Voldemort in the Harry Potter movie franchise, Monsieur Gustave in 2014’s The Grand Budapest Hotel, and in several Shakespeare adaptations. Fiennes won a Tony Award for his portrayal of Hamlet in the play’s 1995 Broadway production. The actor stars in the upcoming movie Conclave, which is set to be released October 25, 2024.

Quick Facts

FULL NAME: Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes
BORN: December 22, 1962
BIRTHPLACE: Ipswich, United Kingdom
SPOUSE: Alex Kingston (1993-1997)
ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Capricorn

Young Ralph Fiennes

Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes was born on December 22, 1962, in the English seaport town of Ipswich, United Kingdom. His first name uses the Elizabethan-era pronunciation raif, while his surname is pronounced fines.

The oldest child of novelist Jennifer “Jini” Lash and photographer Mark Fiennes, he grew up alongside six siblings: Joseph, Martha, Magnus, Sophie, Jacob, and Michael, who his parents fostered. The family moved more than a dozen times as he father sought work and didn’t have much money.

Yet, Jini and Mark encouraged their children to pursue creative endeavors. “My mother introduced me to Shakespeare when I was very young,” Ralph later told The Guardian. “One day she sat me down and told me the story of Hamlet in her own words, which left a huge impression on me.” Then-8-year-old Ralph found the plot disturbing but was “mesmerized” by recordings of Laurence Olivier’s performance in the title role. “I would sit there listening with a copy of the play,” he remembered.

Ralph’s early exposure to theater initially didn’t influence his career aspirations. He had dreams of being a painter and studied at the Chelsea College of Art and Design. Once he discovered acting, however, he transferred to London’s Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and graduated in 1985.

After college, Fiennes began his professional acting career at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre before joining the Royal National Theatre in 1987, where he found success as a Shakespeare interpreter. The following year, he brought his skills to the Royal Shakespeare Company, performing several of the Bard’s works, including Much Ado About Nothing and King Lear.

Several of Ralph’s siblings have also gone on to work in the arts. His brother Joseph is a fellow actor, while sisters Martha and Sophie are movie directors and producers. Magnus established himself as a professional composer.

Movies

Fiennes has alternated between theater and film throughout his impressive career. He scored his first onscreen role in the 1991 British television movie A Dangerous Man: Lawrence After Arabia. The following year, he made his silver screen debut as Heathcliff in the 1992 British adaptation of Wuthering Heights, in which he starred opposite Juliette Binoche. Although the movie wasn’t well-received, Fiennes was praised for his portrayal of the brooding Emily Brontë character.

In 1993, the actor starred in the controversial film The Baby of Macon, which centers around the birth of a miraculous baby in a town plagued by infertility. Containing graphic scenes of nudity and violence, the movie was unrated and didn’t air in the United States until years later.

Big Break in Schindler’s List

Fiennes’ big break came later in 1993 in the Academy Award–winning drama Schindler’s List. Based on the Thomas Keneally semi-fictional novel Schindler’s Ark, the movie focuses on real-life German businessman Oskar Schindler who saves the lives of thousands of Jewish people in Poland during the Holocaust. Fiennes’ performance as Nazi commandant Amon Goeth earned the actor his first Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for best supporting actor. He won a British Academy Film Award in the same category.

Years later, Fiennes said taking on the role was a “no-brainer” for him. “I think there are moments you’re lucky to have as an actor when you’re asked to be part of something that feels like it’s going to be quite momentous,” he told Collider in July 2022. “And it was a no-brainer. I just was delighted. I didn’t even say yes, didn’t even need to say yes—it was a given.”

Success in The English Patient

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Kristin Scott Thomas, Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche co-starred in the drama The English Patient. Fiennes earned an Oscar nomination for Best Actor for his performance.

Fiennes went on to star in Robert Redford’s Quiz Show in 1994 before returning to the stage the following year to star in a broadway production of Hamlet, which earned him a Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Play.

Then, in 1996, Fiennes starred in The English Patient as a plane crash victim recovering from burns as he’s tended to by an army nurse (played by Juliette Binoche) in Italy near the end of World War II. The patient’s past is revealed in a series of flashbacks, showing his doomed love affair with a married British woman (Kristin Scott Thomas). Fiennes received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor as well as a Golden Globe nod for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture.

The English Patient, along with his role in the 1999 film The End of the Affair, co-starring Julianne Moore, developed his reputation as a heartthrob. Fiennes continued this streak in the 2002 movie Maid in Manhattan, playing the romantic interest for Jennifer Lopez. Still, he showed off his versatility that same year by portraying dark and disturbed characters in Spider and Red Dragon.

Harry Potter’s Lord Voldemort

Around 2002, Fiennes was notably cast as the villainous wizard Lord Voldemort in the wildly successful Harry Potter movie franchise, based on the novels by J.K. Rowling. While a number of actors, including Richard Bremmer, played the Dark Lord, Fiennes’ portrayal is the most infamous. He first appeared as Voldemort in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in 2005 and concluded his tenure with the series’ end in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 in 2011.

In between Harry Potter entries, Fiennes starred in the 2005 thriller The Constant Gardener as a widower seeking answer’s about his wife’s death. Next came the 2006 made-for-TV movie Bernard and Doris opposite Susan Sarandon, which follows a romance between a tobacco heiress and her butler. Fiennes received a Golden Globe nomination for his portrayal of the butler, Bernard. In 2008, he appeared in The Duchess with co-star Keira Knightly; the turn earned him another Golden Globe nod for best supporting actor. That same year, he joined Kate Winslet in the post-war romance The Reader before making a cameo appearance in the 2009 Best Picture–winner The Hurt Locker, directed by Kathryn Bigelow.

James Bond Role and The Grand Budapest Hotel

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Ralph Fiennes appeared in three James Bond movies alongside star Daniel Craig.

In 2012, the acclaimed actor played Secret Intelligence Chairman Gareth Mallory, known by the codename M, in the James Bond movie Skyfall. Fiennes reprised his role in 2015’s Spectre, which sees his character assume the position of head of MI6. In 2021, he returned to complete the Daniel Craig–led franchise in No Time to Die.

In the midst of this, Fiennes starred in Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) as Monsieur M. Gustave, the concierge of a 1930s European ski resort. The actor’s performance earned him a fifth Golden Globe nomination. In 2016, Fiennes appeared in the Coen brothers’ comedy Hail, Caesar! along with George Clooney, Channing Tatum, and Scarlett Johansson. Two years later, he portrayed James Moriarty in Holmes & Watson, which offered a comedic take on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic mysteries.

Conclave and Other Recent Roles

Gravitating back to darker roles, Fiennes starred in The Forgiven in 2021, playing one half of an unhappy, rich couple involved in a hit and run. While the movie received mixed reviews from critics and fans, he and his co-star Jessica Chastain were applauded for their acting chops. That same year, Fiennes gave a central performance as an aristocrat turned British spy network leader in The King’s Man.

In 2022, the actor starred in the box-office hit The Menu, portraying a chef at a luxurious restaurant who makes his guests pay with their lives. The comedic horror film won praise for its compelling commentary on class and wealth. Fiennes was again nominated for a Golden Globe for his performance.

Fiennes’ newest movie, Conclave, arrives in theaters in late October 2024. The Vatican-based thriller is an adaptation of  a 2016 best-selling novel of the same name by Robert Harris. Fiennes steps into the role of a cardinal tasked with choosing the next pope.

Directing Work

In addition to being a celebrated actor, Fiennes is a skilled director. He made his directorial debut in 2012 with a film version of Shakespeare’s Coriolanus, in which he also starred as the title character. Fiennes was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Outstanding Debut by a British Director.

For his second project, he starred in and directed the 2013 movie The Invisible Woman about the secret affair Charles Dickens had with a young actor at the height of his career. Fiennes portrayed Dickens. Five years later, in 2018, he directed The White Crow, a biographical film about Russian ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev. Fiennes portrayed Nureyev’s dance instructor.

Fiennes returned to directing after taking another break for the upcoming movie The Beacon, which follows a young Ugandan man in London who is forced to reckon with his girlfriend’s privileged family. The movie also marks Fiennes’ screenwriting debut.

In an interview with Deadline in February 2024, Fiennes said he has gotten “progressively more involved” with each film he’s directed. “Before lockdown, I was on a film when I had the impulse to try to write something myself and that just kept building,” he said. “I felt very strongly that whatever I was to attempt next as a director, it should be contemporary, whether I was writing it or not.”

Ex-Wife

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Alex Kingston and Ralph Fiennes were married from 1993 to 1997.

While Fiennes has opted not to discuss his personal life in the press, he has often become fodder for the tabloids. He has been married once, to Alex Kingston, in the 1990s.

Fiennes and Kingston met when they were both students at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London. After dating for 10 years, the couple wed in 1993. Their marriage lasted four years before it abruptly came to an end in 1997.

While he was still married, Fiennes reportedly began an affair with his Hamlet co-star Francesca Annis. Their relationship ended in 2006 amid rumors that Fiennes had cheated on Annis with Romanian singer Cornelia Crisan. The British actor is also said to have dated Lady Amanda Harlech, Ellen Barkin, and Patti Smith. Fiennes isn’t publicly involved with anyone at this time.

Net Worth

As of May 2024, Fiennes has an estimated total net worth of $50 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.

Quotes

  • It’s in front of an audience that I start to really learn what I’m doing. You rehearse, but a play grows over time. I feel sad that we don’t have a system of adjusting and changing things after the first night.
  • I find love is an overused word put into cheesy contexts.
  • Barely being recognized at all is a great relief.
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Ralph Fiennes Was Drawn to the Nuances of ‘Conclave’ (2024)
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