The Ralph Fiennes FAQ

PERSONAL INFORMATION:

Date of birth:
December 22, 1962

Height:
5'11"

Marital Status:
Ralph and his RADA classmate, actress Alex Kingston, were married in September 1993. As of October 13, 1995 an official announcement was made that they had separated, and they have since divorced.

Alex performed the title role in PBS' Masterpiece Theatre production of "Moll Flanders" (broadcast in October 1996), for which she has received a BAFTA nomination, and now has a role on the American show "ER" as Doctor Elizabeth Corday. Ralph's current partner is the actress Francesca Annis, who played Gertrude to his Hamlet in 1995, and also has a cameo in the 1999 film "Onegin" with Ralph.

Religious Background:
Ralph was raised Catholic but he said he, "chucked it all in before I was confirmed."

Family info:
Ralph was born in Suffolk, England to parents Mark and Jini Fiennes. The family moved several times during Ralph's growing up, including a move to Ireland when he was six years old. Ralph's father is a farmer turned self-taught photographer. His works have been published many times. His mother was a painter and a novelist who published under the name "Jennifer Lash." Some of her works include:

• From May to October (a semiautobiographical portrait of the Fiennes family)
• The Burial
• The Climate of Belief
• Get Down There and Die
• The Dust Collector
• On Pilgrimage: A Time to Seek
• Tristam and the Power of the Lights (children's book)
• Blood Ties

Jini Fiennes passed away in 1993 from breast cancer, at the age of 54. She lived to attend a private advance screening of "Schindler's List." Ralph's father remarried in 1996.

Ralph is the eldest of six children. His siblings' names (followed by their occupations) are:

• Martha Maria (director)
• Sophia ("Sophie") Victoria (producer)
• Magnus Hubert (musician)
• Joseph Alberic (actor) appeared in "The Herbal Bed" at Stratford Upon Avon. Can also be seen (as "Christopher") in Bernardo Bertolucci's film "Stealing Beauty." Is probably best known for playing William Shakespeare in the film "Shakespeare in Love"
• Jacob Mark (gamekeeper) (Joseph and Jacob are twins).
• Michael (archaeologist) -known as "Mick" to the Fienneses. He is a fosterchild the family took in when he was eleven.

Geneaology:
(Courtesy of Sue Burton) Ranulph ("Ran") Fiennes, the arctic explorer, novelist and all-round over-achiever (he walked across Antarctica at the age of 50 with one other chap) and Ralph are 2nd cousins of some sort, as Ranulph is the great-grandson of Frederick Fiennes, 16th Baron of Saye and Sele and Ralph is the great-great-grandson of the 4th son of the 17th Baron. Ranulph's grandpa Eustace (the second son of the 17th Baron) was granted a Baronecy of his own in 1916 -- so, Ranulph Fiennes is actually Ranulph Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes. Grandpa was an MP and Governor of the Secheylles and Leeward; papa Ranulph was a Lt. Col. who died in WWII. Ranulph, who is the 3rd Bt., has spent the last 25 years on various expeditions and writing books.

Ralph's family comes down from Wingfield the 4th son (brother to said Eustace & to Cecil and Ivo). Wingfield Stratford was Rector of Milton Keynes and married the daughter of the Dean of Worchester; they had Alberic Arthur who married Gertrude Colley (sister to novelist Elizabeth Bowen's mum, making her cousin to Maurice et al.) who begot Maurice Alberic who was a business tycoon type (knighted in 1965 for services, etc). Maurice married (his first marriage) Sylvia Joan Finlay, dau. of Major Finlay, late of the Dragoon Guards. They had Mark (wouldn't take money from dad, tried farming, became a noted photographer) who married Jennifer Lash the novelist and painter (who, of course, turns out not to have been just some girl, but one Jennifer Ann Mary Alleyne, dau. of Brigadier Lash, late Indian Army).

Education and Career:
Ralph originally planned to be a painter. He attended the Chelsea College of Art and Design then transferred to RADA (the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts) where he began his training as an actor. Ralph is a member of the RADA class of 1985. Classmates include: Jane Horrocks, Iain Glenn, and Imogen Stubbs. After graduation from RADA, Ralph joined the National Theatre Company in 1987. He joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1988.

Favorite actor:
Harvey Keitel. Others he admires: Marlon Brando, Robert DeNiro, Paul Scofield (who played his father in "Quiz Show.").

Some musical likings:
CURRENT: Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole, Billie Holiday. FORMER: Bach, Dead Can Dance (possibly), Crowded House, the Stranglers, David Bowie, Lou Reed, Patti Smith.

Some Favorite Authors:
Cormac McCarthy and (early works of) Michael Ondaatje.

Awards:

"Sunshine":
• -European Film Awards, 1999, Best Actor

"The English Patient":
• -Academy Award, and BAFTA nominations, 1997, Best Actor
• -Golden Globe nomination, 1997, Best Actor in a Drama

"Schindler's List":
• -BAFTA (British Oscar), 1997
• -New York Film Critics, Boston Film Critics, National Society of Film Critics Awards, 1997, for Best Supporting Actor
• -Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations, 1997, Best Supporting Actor

"Hamlet" (Almeida Theatre & Broadway):
• - Tony Award (Broadway), 1995, Best Actor in a Play
• - Drama Desk Award, 1995

THEATEROGRAPHY:

Member of the Royal Shakespeare Company from 1988-90
Ralph's RSC work (followed by the role he played):

• Henry VI (Henry VI)
• Richard III (Henry VI)
• Much Ado About Nothing (Claudio)
• King John (Dauphin)
• Troilus and Cressida (Troilus)
• King Lear (Edmund)
• Love's Labor Lost (Berowne)

• The Man Who Came to Dinner (Bert Jefferson)
• Playing With Trains (Gant)

• A Midsummer Night's Dream (Lysander)
• Romeo and Juliet (Romeo)

• Hamlet (Hamlet)
  A matinee performance (7/21/95) was videotaped for the Lincoln Center Archives. Students (and those with a valid reason) can view the performance at the Lincoln Center Library, by appointment only.
  
• Love in a Cold Climate
  This was a one-night only performance given as a benefit for the Almeida Theatre at the Laura Pels Theater in New York on April 29, 1996. The cast was: Francesca Annis, Ralph Fiennes, Natasha Richardson, and Alan Rickman.
  
• Ivanov (Ivanov) at the Almeida Theatre in London 2/6/97-4/5/97
  
• Richard II & Coriolanus at the Gainsborough Studios, London, New York (Brooklyn Academy of Music), Tokyo. From March 30 through October 2000
• The Talking Cure at the Royal National Theatre in London from December 2002
  

• Fathers and Sons (Arkady)
• Ting Tang Mine (Lisha Ball)
• Six Characters in Search of an Author (son)

FILMOGRAPHY:

The following is a list of Ralph's film work, followed by the year and the character he portrayed:

• "Prime Suspect" (1990) [Michael] (small role, but worth the viewing)
• "A Dangerous Man: Lawrence After Arabia" (1991) [T.E. Lawrence]
• "Wuthering Heights" (1992) [Heathcliff]
• "The Cormorant" (1993) [John]
• "The Baby of Macon" (1993) [The Bishop's Son]
• "Schindler's List" (1993) [Amon Goeth]
• "Quiz Show" (1994) [Charles Van Doren]
• "Strange Days" (1995) [Lenny Nero]
• "The English Patient" (1996) [The English Patient/Almasy]
• "Oscar and Lucinda [Oscar Hopkins]
• "The Avengers" (1998) [John Steed]
• "The Prince of Egypt" (1998 -animated) [Voice of Ramses]
• "Onegin" (1999) [Eugene Onegin]
• "Sunshine" (1999) [Istvan/Ivan/Adam Sonnenschein]
• "The End of The Affair"(1999) [Maurice Bendrix]
• "Spider"(2002)
• "Red Dragon"(2002) [Francis Dolarhyde]
• "Maid In Manhattan"(2002)

MISCELLANEOUS GOODIES:

BOOKS/PRINT/BOOKS ON TAPE:

• Biography (UK Release, November 1997): Ralph Fiennes - the Biography by York Membery. ISBN #:0-2339-9290-1
• A book-on-tape verion of "Oscar & Lucinda" released by Random House. ISBN#: 0-679-46098-5
• A book-on-tape version of "The English Patient" (novel (abridged), not screenplay) has been released in the UK with Ralph doing the reading (it was originally read by Michael York). ISBN #: 0-333-67556-8
• "The English Patient: A Screenplay", by Anthony Minghella (Hyperion, 1996) contains the script of the film, various forewards and endpieces, and some nice stills from the film. ISBN #: 0-7868-8245-X. There is a UK version with a different (photo) cover.
• In Players of Shakespeare, vol. 3, (Cambridge University Press, 1993, edited by Russell Jackson and Robert Smallwood), there is an essay written by Ralph about his portrayal of Henry VI in a RSC production of "The Plantagenets," a production which combined Henry VI, parts I and II, and Richard III. The essay (with photos) begins on page 99. ISBN #: 0-521-47734-4.

ETC:

• BBC Radio 3 broadcast a live performance of George Bernard Shaw's play, "Man and Superman," the full five-hour play. Ralph played the part of Jack Tanner/Don Juan. A four-tape recording of the play can be purchased from the BBC.
• The CD soundtrack of the film "Il Postino" ("The Postman") contains a number of poems by Pablo Neruda read by various celebrities. Ralph reads "Ode to the Sea" on track 6.

HOW TO GET SOME OF THIS COOL STUFF:

Many back issues of magazines can be ordered. In most cases, simply call or write the subscription office and ask how to order back issues. You will need to know the exact date of the issue you need, so they can tell you if it's still available (A&E Monthly and the "50 Most Beautiful" People, for example, are no longer available). Back issues of U.S. magazines generally cost about $5.00, but that varies depending on the date and the specific title. Here are some helpful phone numbers!

The "Charlie Rose" interviews can be ordered by calling 1-800-ALL-NEWS. Request show #1035 for the interview for "Schindler's List". Other Charlie Rose interviews include one for "The End of The Affair" and one featuring Ralph with Joseph and Sophie Fiennes discussing their late mother Jennifer Lash and her novel "Blood Ties" (not sure of the show numbers for the last two appearances)

"A Dangerous Man," "Baby of Macon," and "Wuthering Heights" are all available from The Continental Shop (in California). The tapes are pretty expensive (approximately $45.00 including shipping), and the picture quality is not perfect (possibly due to the conversion from PAL format). The telephone number for The Continental Shop is (310)453-8655. In the U.K., you can probably find them at Tower Records (and other places as well!).

Posters and photos can be ordered from Hollywood Book and Poster. Phone number: 212-465-8764.

This Ralph Fiennes FAQ was begun on America Online by a number of people, then was regularly compiled by our dear friend Julie (JHBuddy@aol.com) until time no longer allowed her to update and send it out regularly. We are truly following in her footseps, and most of what you see here is thanks to her hard work and research! Our thanks to Julie and all who have contributed to making the FAQ possible.

El Stepho Zone