FIENNES, RALPH

Contributed by: The James Bond Movie Encyclopedia by Steven Jay Rubin

(December 22, 1962–     ): Two-time Academy Award–nominated British actor—his name is pronounced “Rafe Fines”—who was cast as Gareth Mallory, the new M, in Skyfall and has continued in that role ever since.

A native of Ipswich, Suffolk, England, Fiennes made his big-screen debut as Heathcliff in director Peter Kosminsky’s 1992 adaptation of Wuthering Heights. The following year he became internationally known for his role as concentration camp commandant Amon Goeth in director Steven Spielberg’s acclaimed World War II drama Schindler’s List (1993), a role for which he was awarded his first Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor (he lost to Tommy Lee Jones in The Fugitive). Showing his versatility, Fiennes’s next film was director Robert Redford’s historical drama Quiz Show (1994), in which he portrayed patrician game show contestant Charles Van Doren. In 1996, he was cast as Almásy in Anthony Minghella’s epic war drama The English Patient, which netted Fiennes his second Oscar nomination, this time for Best Actor (he lost to Geoffrey Rush in Shine). He later took on one of his most popular roles, playing the evil Lord Voldemort in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) and three subsequent films in the smash-hit series.

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