Ralph Fiennes

Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes was born on 22 December 1962 in Ipswich, Suffolk, England, the eldest of six children born to Mark Fiennes, a farmer and photographer, and Jennifer Lash, a writer. His siblings include actor Joseph Fiennes, director Martha Fiennes, composer Magnus Fiennes, filmmaker Sophie Fiennes, and conservationist Jacob Fiennes. His foster brother, Michael Emery, is an archaeologist, and his nephew, Hero Fiennes Tiffin, portrayed the young Lord Voldemort in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Fiennes attended Bishop Wordsworth's School in Salisbury from 1976 to 1981 before studying painting at Chelsea College of Arts, ultimately choosing to pursue acting. He trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London between 1983 and 1985, beginning his stage career at the Open Air Theatre in Regent's Park and the National Theatre before achieving prominence at the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Fiennes made his Broadway debut in 1995 playing Prince Hamlet in a revival of Hamlet, earning the Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Play, a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play, and a Theatre World Award that same year. He returned to Broadway in 2006 in Brian Friel's Faith Healer, portraying a traveling faith healer, a performance that earned him a second Tony nomination.

His screen career began in 1990 with the British television film A Dangerous Man: Lawrence After Arabia, in which he played T. E. Lawrence. His feature film debut came in 1992 as Heathcliff opposite Juliette Binoche in Wuthering Heights. The following year, he portrayed Nazi concentration camp commandant Amon Göth in Steven Spielberg's Schindler's List, a performance that earned him a BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor and an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. In 1994, he played American academic Charles Van Doren in Robert Redford's Quiz Show alongside John Turturro and Paul Scofield. His role as László Almásy in the 1996 epic The English Patient, starring opposite Kristin Scott Thomas and Binoche, brought him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.

Fiennes voiced Ramesses II in the 1998 animated film The Prince of Egypt and starred in the 1999 film Onegin, which he also helped produce, directed by his sister Martha Fiennes with a score composed by his brother Magnus. He portrayed Francis Dolarhyde in the 2002 thriller Red Dragon and appeared in the romantic comedy Maid in Manhattan that same year. In 2005, he starred alongside Rachel Weisz in Fernando Meirelles's The Constant Gardener, set in Kenya, receiving a BAFTA nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role. That year he also voiced Lord Victor Quartermaine in the animated comedy Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit.

Fiennes gained widespread recognition beginning in 2005 for his portrayal of Lord Voldemort in the Harry Potter film series, a role he continued through 2011. Starting in 2012, he took on the role of Gareth Mallory, later known as M, in the James Bond film series, continuing through 2021. He directed and starred in Coriolanus in 2011 and The Invisible Woman in 2013. Additional film credits include In Bruges, The Reader, and The Duchess in 2008, The Hurt Locker in 2009, The Grand Budapest Hotel in 2014, A Bigger Splash in 2015, Hail, Caesar! in 2016, The King's Man in 2021, The Menu in 2022, and Conclave in 2024, the last of which earned him a third Academy Award nomination. He also voiced characters in Kubo and the Two Strings in 2016 and The Lego Batman Movie in 2017.

Beyond his performing career, Fiennes has served as an ambassador for UNICEF UK since 1999 and holds the position of Honorary Associate of the London Film School. He is also a patron of the Constant Gardener Trust, established to provide basic education for children in Kenyan villages where The Constant Gardener was filmed, and a patron of the Shakespeare Schools Festival, which supports school children performing Shakespeare in professional theatres across the United Kingdom.