Ralph Fiennes reacts to memorable photos from his childhood and storied career, including his iconic role as Voldemort in the 'Harry Potter' series, his brother, actor Joseph Fiennes, and his role opposite Jennifer Lopez as the romantic lead in 'Maid in Manhattan'. Ralph reflects on key moments from his diverse filmography, sharing personal anecdotes and insights into his acting journey.
Category
✨
PeopleTranscript
00:00I had to wear tights under the robes.
00:03I remember teasing the crew or the stunt team
00:05by provocatively lifting my skirts
00:09to show them my wonderful legs with the garter belt on.
00:13That's me being cheeky.
00:15I'm Ralph Fiennes, and this is my life in pictures.
00:19This is taken in the south of England
00:21in the county of Dorset.
00:22I'm the eldest of six children.
00:25I'm here with the stripes, and that is Jacob,
00:28that's Joseph, that is Sophie,
00:31that's Martha, and that's my brother, Magnus.
00:33I can hear my dad going, come on, look at the camera,
00:35yes, look at me, that's it, smile.
00:37I can hear his voice.
00:38We were very much an arts family.
00:40My mother, whatever any of her children did,
00:43she was encouraging, do it, do it,
00:46but she was very strong about do it thoroughly.
00:49Don't just skim the surface
00:50of anything you're interested in.
00:52She'd get expensive drawing paper in, big sheets,
00:55and we were allowed to take a sheet and start a drawing,
00:58but if we didn't finish it, she would get frustrated.
01:01You didn't finish it, you started drawing,
01:03but you haven't finished it.
01:04You must finish it, I can't,
01:06you can't just take a clean sheet of paper every time
01:09and not finish the drawing,
01:10so I guess she instilled in us a sense of,
01:12you have to be tenacious and keep going and not give up.
01:17This is, I think, a well-known still from Schindler's List.
01:20It's Liam Neeson playing Oscar Schindler
01:22opposite me playing Arnold Goert.
01:24I seem a bit chubby,
01:25because I think I was trying to put on a bit of weight.
01:27The real Arnold Goert was very heavy.
01:29I bought what they called rapid weight gain powder.
01:32I think it was for people who had real issues
01:34with keeping any flesh on anyway.
01:37That was a thing that tipped me
01:38to having a soft, paunchy belly.
01:42When I look at this, I think of my friendship with Liam.
01:45He had been around the block with films,
01:46so he sort of had a wonderful, caring, supportive,
01:49kind of older brother quality.
01:52I think when you're there for someone on set,
01:53you just want to give them your full focus and energy
01:56if you're off camera for them.
01:58You want to go, now I'm here.
02:00You want to help and say, how can I help you?
02:03You want to be present, and that's what I felt from Liam.
02:05Look, all you have to do is tell me what it's worth to you.
02:10What's a person worth to you?
02:11No, no, no, no.
02:13What's one worth to you?
02:15He was wonderfully supportive.
02:17He's a dear friend.
02:20That's with J. Lo,
02:21shooting Made in Manhattan in Central Park.
02:23It's a Cinderella story.
02:25It was rom-com writing.
02:26It was light.
02:27I think I felt a little bit at sea sometimes.
02:29Now, who is this Republican senator?
02:31My antennae for things American, I think,
02:34got better since,
02:35but then I think I was kind of sometimes
02:38a little bit lost.
02:39Why are you dressed that way, Caroline?
02:41The woman you thought was a guest on this floor
02:44is the maid on this floor.
02:46Is this true?
02:48Yeah, it is.
02:49This would never happen at the Four Seasons.
02:52I was friends with Natasha,
02:54and it was incredibly devastating to all of her friends.
02:56Of course, to her family,
02:58that she died so tragically and so young.
03:00I have a lot of happy memories
03:01of spending time with Natasha and Liam.
03:04She was a wonderful, kind, open, generous host,
03:07wonderful actress,
03:08and I really valued her friendship.
03:12Here's my younger brother.
03:14Here, I'm just looking at this picture,
03:15trying to remember where it was.
03:16He looks like he'd like to get away from my grip.
03:19I've got my arm around his shoulder.
03:20He looks like, get the fuck off me, right?
03:23I would, if he was here, we would have a laugh.
03:25He's a brilliant actor.
03:27Master Shakespeare.
03:28The same, alas.
03:30Why alas?
03:31A lowly player.
03:32I thought you were the highest poet of my esteem.
03:34Oh, I am him too.
03:35One day, I hope we do a film together.
03:37I have no idea what kind of film it would be.
03:39It would be nice if it wasn't serious.
03:41He's far too handsome.
03:46We know that this is Voldemort
03:48from the last confrontation with Harry Potter.
03:51Drink up!
03:57It went on for days, I think, shooting that.
04:00David Yates was directing,
04:02and I loved working with him
04:03because even though the films were huge and successful,
04:06he never stopped being very precise,
04:08very detailed about every element.
04:10I never felt him being general.
04:13I could imagine a director under pressure
04:15on a movie that size being,
04:16yeah, yeah, get that, get that shot,
04:18that's great, we've got it, great, move on.
04:20But never, David Yates was just wonderfully,
04:22I could think, Rafe, it could be a bit more like this,
04:24and yeah, just give me this more incredibly precise,
04:29even when I'm going, argh!
04:31Even stuff that's nonverbal stuff.
04:34I think when I'm playing Voldemort,
04:36I'm trying to access something without empathy.
04:39It's about power and control
04:42and manipulating of people for power.
04:45It's a real, almost erotic pleasure
04:47in how I can control you.
04:49I know I have the power to do it.
04:52You have no chance.
04:53Michael Gambon, who played Dumbledore,
04:56is a great, great actor,
04:57but he was known to not take something too seriously,
04:59and he would fart about and take the piss,
05:03take the mickey of the subject matter, you know?
05:05Being a bit campy between takes,
05:07with his hands on his hips,
05:09oh darling, I went in, that sort of thing.
05:12And while you battled,
05:13he had long since fallen on his knees!
05:17I'm wearing these long, silky robes.
05:19I had to wear tights under the robes.
05:21The tights would work their way down,
05:24so the gusset of the tight would be around my knees.
05:27And to get under the robes to hoik the tights up
05:29was a big thing,
05:31and it would be a bit of a pain in the arse.
05:32And then I said, why don't we cut them?
05:34And I put a garter belt on.
05:36And so I did sometimes,
05:39I remember teasing the crew or the stunt team
05:41by provocatively lifting my skirts
05:45to show them my wonderful legs with the garter belt on.
05:50That's me as M, no time to die.
05:52The Prince of Wales, as he was then, visited the set.
05:55The atmosphere changes when royalty visits a film set.
05:59Even if they don't button them up,
06:00literally there's a bit of internal buttoning up
06:02that might go on.
06:03Of course, you know, royalty provokes
06:05a spectrum of responses to people who say,
06:07oh, f***ing Prince of Wales is coming, what a pain.
06:09To other people, oh, did you see him?
06:12What was he like?
06:13Mostly it's warm.
06:15I mean, he's very charming to meet and easy.
06:19I realise that it's written that I'm related.
06:21I don't know that I am.
06:22You could say everyone's related if you care.
06:25So I don't really know about that.
06:27I don't think it's true,
06:29but if it is, it's probably very tenuous.
06:32So if I look at this picture,
06:33the first thing that strikes me is my deep connection
06:37and friendship with Juliette Binoche.
06:39It's a picture from the last scene of the film,
06:41coming together, reunion.
06:44I'm very moved looking at this picture.
06:46It sort of symbolises for me my very deep friendship
06:49and collaboration with Juliette.
06:51That's what I get from this picture.
06:53We worked together on a difficult production
06:55of Wuthering Heights.
06:56We've had the curse, if you like,
06:57of famous literary roles,
06:59which had been done many times and quite successfully.
07:02So it was difficult creatively,
07:04but not in terms of our sense of trust.
07:07And an alliance, I think, was formed.
07:12So when we were doing English Patient,
07:13we had that as credit in the bank.
07:16I'm still here.
07:20You'd better be.
07:22Don't depend on it, will you?
07:27That little bit of air in my lungs,
07:30each day, it gets less and less.
07:33When she laughs now about me being prone,
07:35covered in latex and not able to move,
07:38and she could be free to walk around and administer to me.
07:41And that was a happy experience for us, very much.
07:44And since the English Patient, we've stayed friends.
07:46We've both have done theatre work.
07:48We've come to see each other.
07:49And I've got to know her over the years,
07:51her kindness, her openness, her freedom, her courage.
07:55I find her very inspirational.
07:57What will the people say when they see I have returned alone?
07:59That I led all their men to their deaths.
08:02This film came about because the director,
08:04Uberto Pasolini, said to me,
08:06I want you as Odysseus.
08:07I said, okay, I think I'm too old.
08:09He says, no, you're the right age,
08:10but who should play Penelope?
08:12I think it should be Juliet.
08:14And I went, yeah.
08:15So Juliet teases me.
08:16He said, you always say, Uberto chose.
08:18You didn't want me.
08:19And I said, well, for as soon as he said your name,
08:22I wanted you, but that was the way it went.
08:24I am Odysseus' wife.
08:26Odysseus is dead.
08:28Not to me.
08:29This is a great still,
08:30because it sort of sums up our bond, I think,
08:32as two friends, two actors.
08:34It's meaningful to me.