Meet the Harry Potter star Ralph Fiennes

Media News

Mumbai, November 22, 2007

Better known for his terrifying portrayal of the role of Lord Voldemort in The Harry Potter series, Ralph was born on December 22, 1962 in Suffolk, England. He is the eldest of 6 children. His father is photographer, Mark Fiennes and his mother is novelist, Jennifer Lash. Coming from a creative background the children of the Fiennes family were always encouraged to pursue creative pursuits and hence it is no surprise that Ralph and his brother Joseph are actors and his two sisters are a director and a producer. Following his graduation from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in 1987, Ralph joined the Royal National Theatre. A year later, he became a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company and performed in stage productions of many Shakespeare plays.

Ralph made his film debut in 1992 with the role of Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights. However he got international fame only in 1993 when he played the Nazi concentration camp commander, Amon Göth, in Steven Spielberg's Schindler's List. Ralph also got nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for that role. In 1996, Ralph garnered another Academy Award nomination for Best Actor for his brilliant portrayal of a world war pilot caught in an illicit romance in The English Patient.

In 2004, Ralph was cast as Lord Voldemort in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. The film was released in November 2005. He will reprise the role in future Harry Potter films.

Some interesting trivia on Ralph Fiennes:

Ralph's name is pronounced "Rafe Fines."

Ralph is a brunette with blue eyes and is 6' tall.

Ralph has appeared in 30 major motion pictures.

Ralph gained several pounds for his role in the 2002 film entitled Red Dragon.

Ralph received the William Shakespeare Award from the Shakespeare Theatre in Washington, DC on March 3, 2001.

Ralph won a Tony Award for playing Hamlet in a 1995 Broadway production directed by Jonathan Kent.

Ralph filmed his role as Lord Voldemort in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) in only two days.

His nephew, Hero Fiennes, 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 (2008).

Fiennes was reluctant to take the role of Lord Volemort in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005). In a television interview 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. 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.

Ralph performed the song titled The Plagues in The Prince of Egypt; although, he is not a singer.

The tattoo on Ralph's back in Red Dragon took 8 hours to apply.

He was considered for the role of Robert Langdon in The Da Vinci Code (2006). Tom Hanks was cast instead.

Meet this enigmatic star as he engages in a tete a tete with James Lipton on Inside the Actors Studio this Sunday, 25th November, at 7:00 pm only on PIX!

For further information please contact:

Shraddha Satyapal

LINOpinion

Mobile: +91 9892170840

Tel: +91 22- 2493 5477, +91 22 2499 7686

Fax: +91 22 - 6660 2731

Website: www.linopinion.com

www.lintasimag.com