Trivia

When he noticed that children watching the filming were scared of him as "Lord Voldemort" in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005), he knew he had the character right.

His nephew, Hero Fiennes Tiffin, played the 11-year-old version of his character Tom Riddle a.k.a. "Lord Voldemort" in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009).

8th cousin of King Charles III.

Fiennes was reluctant to take the role of Lord Voldemort in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005). In a television interview on AMC's Shootout (2003) (November 20, 2005), 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. Family members urged him to take the role while other friends counseled against it. 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: "The little kid in me that likes to dress up and be bad went 'Yeah! I want to do it!'".

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

Friends with Liam Neeson and the late Natasha Richardson.

His performance as Amon Goeth from his film Schindler's List (1993) was ranked #15 on the American Film Institute's Villains list in their compilation of the 100 years of The Greatest Screen Heroes and Villains.

Was considered for the role of James Bond years before being cast as Gareth Mallory in Skyfall (2012).

Of the roughly one dozen actors to play "Hamlet" on Broadway, he is the first to win a Tony Award for doing so, in the 1995 Almeida Theatre production directed by Jonathan Kent.

His tattoo in Red Dragon (2002) took eight hours to apply.

Gained several pounds of muscle for his role in Red Dragon (2002).

As of 2015, has appeared in six films that were nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: Schindler's List (1993), Quiz Show (1994), The English Patient (1996), The Reader (2008), The Hurt Locker (2008) and The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014). Of those, Schindler's List (1993), The English Patient (1996) and The Hurt Locker (2008) are winners in the category.

His performance as "Amon Goeth" in Schindler's List (1993) is ranked #61 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Performances of All Time (2006).

4th cousin of Lord Saye & Sele, owner of Broughton Castle, which appears in Shakespeare in Love (1998) as Viola's house.

Is the oldest of 6 children - younger siblings; Martha Fiennes (b. 1964), Magnus Fiennes (b. 1965), Sophie Fiennes (b. 1967) and Jacob Mark Fiennes & Joseph Fiennes (b. 27 May 1970). He also has a foster brother, Michael Emery (b. 31 December 1952) who has been with the family since he was 11.

He has English, Irish, and Scottish ancestry. Many of his recent ancestors lived in India, during the British colonial period. His maternal grandparents were born in Bengal and Madras, respectively. He has said that his surname, "Fiennes," is of Norman origin.

An Associate Member of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA).

When appearing on Inside the Actors Studio (1994), Julianne Moore named him as her favorite leading man. They appeared together in The End of the Affair (1999).

Name rhymes with "Safe Signs".

He was considered for the title role in Batman Forever (1995) before Val Kilmer was cast.

Has shared two roles with Peter O'Toole. They have both played Hamlet on stage, and both played T.E. Lawrence.

He was considered for the role of Robert Langdon in The Da Vinci Code (2006), which went to Tom Hanks.

On 3 March 2001, he received the William Shakespeare Award from the Shakespeare Theatre in Washington, D.C. Past recipients include Mel Gibson, Patrick Stewart, Lynn Redgrave, Kenneth Branagh and Kevin Kline.

Has appeared in three Best Picture winners (Schindler's List (1993), The English Patient (1996) and The Hurt Locker (2008)), and a Best Animated Feature winner (Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005)).

He has worked with 7 directors who have won a Best Director Oscar: Steven Spielberg, Robert Redford, Kathryn Bigelow, Anthony Minghella, Sam Mendes, and Joel Coen & Ethan Coen.

Has appeared in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007) with Gary Oldman. Both of them have played villains in the Hannibal Lecter films: Fiennes played Francis Dolarhyde in Red Dragon (2002), and Oldman played Mason Verger in Hannibal (2001).

His uncle, Nicholas Lash, is a former priest and Cambridge theology professor, and his great-uncle, Dom Patrick Moore, is a Benedictine monk.

Makes a 'blink-and-you'll-miss-it', appearance in the video for Robert Palmer"s 1992, hit single, "Every Kinda' People".

He has appeared in two films that have been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant: Schindler's List (1993) and The Hurt Locker (2008).

He and his brother, Joseph Fiennes, have both worked with Cate Blanchett (Oscar and Lucinda (1997) and Elizabeth (1998)), Rachel Weisz (The Constant Gardener (2005) and Enemy at the Gates (2001)) and Liv Tyler (Onegin (1999) and Stealing Beauty (1996)).

Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#33). (1995)

The Hurt Locker (2008) marks the third best picture Oscar winning film that Ralph Fiennes has co-starred in. In addition, the other two, Schindler's List (1993); Best Supporting Actor Oscar nominee) and The English Patient (1996); Best Actor Oscar nominee), were also dramas set during wartime.

In April 2005 appeared in Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar" as Mark Antony at London's Barbican Centre, in a production by Deborah Warner with Fiona Shaw (Calpurnia) and John Shrapnel (Caesar). The production toured to France and Spain later that year with the same cast.

He was considered for the role of Simon Templar in The Saint (1997), which went to Val Kilmer.

Appeared in three movies with Tilda Swinton: The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), A Bigger Splash (2015) and Hail, Caesar! (2016).

Won the 1995 Tony Award (New York City) for Actor in a Drama for "Hamlet" and was nominated for the 2006 Tony Award (New York City) for Actor in a Drama for "Faith Healer".

Has starred in 3 films with good friend Kristin Scott Thomas: The English Patient (1996), Chromophobia (2005) and The Invisible Woman (2013).

Was friends with Alan Rickman.

New York, NY: It was announced that he, as well as Cate Blanchett, will be honored by gala tributes (separately) in October by the Film Society of Lincoln Center during its annual film festival. (August 2013)

He and his The End of the Affair (1999) co-star Julianne Moore have acted in separate Hannibal Lecter films: he in Red Dragon (2002) and she in Hannibal (2001).

Ranked #34 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list. (October 1997)

(1995 - 2006) Partner Francesca Annis.

He was a guest of a Belgrade Film Festival - FEST 2009.

Has appeared twice on the cover of GQ magazine: August '94 and July '98.

Belgrade (Serbia), sightseeing locations for filming "Coriolanus", Shakespeare play set in modern time. (August 2008)

Broke up with Francesca Annis [February 7, 2006].

In June 2006 appeared in the title role of Brian Friel's "Faith Healer", at the Booth Theatre on Broadway. The revival co-starred 'Cherry Jones' and Ian McDiarmid, who won a Tony for best supporting actor. Ralph received a Tony nomination.

Appearing in the London West End production of Oedipus as the title character (October 2008)

London, UK: Playing lead role of Prospero in Trevor Nunn's production of The Tempest at the Royal Haymarket Theatre. (August 2011)