1983–1992: Theatre work and film debut , London, in recognition of the film
Strange Days (1995) Fiennes trained at
RADA (the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art) in London between 1983 and 1985. He began his career at the
Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park, and also at the
National Theatre. He achieved prominence at the
Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC). He had a major role in
Peter Greenaway's historical drama film
The Baby of Mâcon with
Julia Ormond, which provoked controversy and was poorly received.
1993–2004: Breakthrough and acclaim In 1993, he portrayed the brutal
Nazi concentration camp commandant
Amon Göth in
Steven Spielberg's historical
holocaust drama epic ''
Schindler's List.
Todd McCarthy, film critic of Variety'' praised his performance describing it as "extraordinary" adding that he "creates an indelible character in Goeth. With paunch hanging out and eyes filled with disgust both for his victims and himself, he’s like a minor-league Roman emperor gone sour with excess, a man in whom too much power and debauchery have crushed anything that might once have been good." For his performance in the film, he was nominated for the
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and won the
BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor. Fiennes later stated that playing the role had a profoundly disturbing effect on him. In 1994, Fiennes portrayed the American academic
Charles Van Doren in
Robert Redford's historical drama
Quiz Show acting opposite
John Turturro and
Paul Scofield. The film centered around the
Twenty-One quiz show scandals of the 1950s. The film received critical acclaim as well as a nomination for the
Academy Award for Best Picture. In
1996, he was nominated for the
Academy Award for Best Actor for playing
László Almásy in the epic World War II romantic drama
The English Patient, in which he starred with
Kristin Scott-Thomas and reunited with Binoche. He starred in the romantic drama
Oscar and Lucinda (1997) opposite
Cate Blanchett, played
John Steed in spy comedy
The Avengers (1998), and voiced
Ramesses II in an animated Biblical epic
The Prince of Egypt (1998). Fiennes's film work has encompassed a variety of genres, including
thrillers (
Spider, Strange Days),
romantic comedy (
Maid in Manhattan), and historical drama (
Sunshine). In 1999, Fiennes had the
title role in
Onegin, a film which he also helped produce. His sister
Martha Fiennes directed, and brother
Magnus composed the score. Fiennes portrayed
Francis Dolarhyde in the 2002 film,
Red Dragon, a prequel to
The Silence of the Lambs and
Hannibal. Fiennes's performance as a sympathetic serial killer with a romantic relationship with a blind girl, played by
Emily Watson, was praised. Film critic
David Sterritt wrote, "Ralph Fiennes is scarily good as [Hannibal Lecter's] fellow lunatic." Fiennes voiced
Jesus in
The Miracle Maker (2000), a stop-motion animated film depicting the life of Jesus. ambassador|220x220px
2005–2011: Harry Potter and stardom In 2005, Fiennes starred in
Fernando Meirelles's
The Constant Gardener, a film based on the
2001 novel of the same name by
John le Carré acting alongside
Rachel Weisz. He received a
British Academy Film Award nomination for
Best Actor in a Leading Role. The situation affected the cast and crew to such an extent that they set up the
Constant Gardener Trust to provide basic education for children of these villages. Fiennes is a patron of the charity. Fiennes is also a patron of the
Shakespeare Schools Festival, a charity that enables school children across the UK to perform Shakespeare in professional theatres. That same year, Fiennes voiced Lord Victor Quartermaine in the 2005 stop-motion animated comedy
Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. The role saw him play a cruel upper class
bounder who courts Lady Tottington (
Helena Bonham Carter) and despises
Wallace & Gromit. Fiennes gained worldwide prominence for his portrayal as
Lord Voldemort, the antagonist in the
Harry Potter franchise. His first appearance was in the 2005 fantasy film
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. He returned to the role for three other films in the series:
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007) and both
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 (2010) and
Part 2 (2011). In an interview with
Empire magazine, Fiennes said his portrayal of Voldemort was an "instinctive, visceral, physical thing". In a 2024 interview with
Collider, Fiennes expanded on playing the character saying, "When I play Voldemort, I'm trying to access something without empathy. It's about power and control and the manipulating of people for power. It's a real, almost erotic pleasure in how I can control you. I know I have the power to do it. You have no chance." In 2006, Fiennes returned to the stage in
Faith Healer alongside
Ian McDiarmid. The revival premiered at the
Gate Theatre in
Dublin before transferring to the
Broadway stage at the
Booth Theatre. For his performances, Fiennes received a
Tony Award nomination for
Best Actor in a Play. In 2008, he worked with frequent collaborator director
Jonathan Kent, playing the title role in
Oedipus the King by
Sophocles, at the
National Theatre in London. In 2008, he played the
Duke of Devonshire in the film
The Duchess opposite
Keira Knightley; he also played the protagonist in
The Reader, adapted from
the novel of the same name alongside
Kate Winslet. That same year he also appeared in
Martin McDonagh's
black comedy crime thriller
In Bruges starring
Colin Farrell and
Brendan Gleeson. In February 2009, Fiennes was the special guest of the
Belgrade's Film Festival
FEST. He filmed
his version of Shakespeare's
Coriolanus (in his directorial debut) in the Serbian capital of Belgrade. Fiennes reunited with
Kathryn Bigelow for her
Iraq War film
The Hurt Locker, released in 2009, appearing as an English Private Military Contractor. They had previously worked together on
Strange Days (1995). In April 2010, he played
Hades in
Clash of the Titans, a remake of the 1981 film of the same name.
2012–2019: Established career In 2012, he appeared in the twenty-third
James Bond film,
Skyfall, directed by
Sam Mendes. He replaced Dame
Judi Dench as
M in subsequent Bond films. That same year, he played
Abel Magwitch in
Great Expectations (2012), directed by
Mike Newell based on the
Charles Dickens novel of the same name. He acted alongside
Harry Potter alumni
Robbie Coltrane and
Helena Bonham-Carter. David Rooney of
The Hollywood Reporter wrote of his performance that "Fiennes is feral and frightening" adding, "[He] is a touching figure of unexpected integrity and enormous pathos". Also in 2012, he reprised his role of
Hades again acting opposite
Liam Neeson's
Zeus in the action fantasy sequel
Wrath of the Titans. Despite the film receiving negative reviews it was a financial success. In 2013, Fiennes returned to the director's chair helming over the biographical romance drama
The Invisible Woman, where he also acted portraying the leading role of
Charles Dickens opposite
Felicity Jones as
Ellen Ternan. The film was well-received with
Peter Bradshaw of
The Guardian writing, "Fiennes himself portrays a complex figure: a showman, an egotist and an applause-addict whose lovers and children were his enablers, but also a genuine artist and social idealist. This is an engrossing drama, with excellent performances". , October 2013 Though he is not commonly noted as a comic actor, in 2014 Fiennes made an impression with his farcical turn as a flirty and eccentric
concierge, Monsieur Gustave in
Wes Anderson's comedy-drama
The Grand Budapest Hotel. Fiennes used his time as a young porter at London's
Brown's Hotel to help construct the character. For his performance, Fiennes was nominated for the
Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy and the
BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role. Film magazine
Empire ranked Fiennes's portrayal of Gustave as the 17th Greatest Movie Character of All Time. In 2015, Fiennes starred in
Luca Guadagnino's thriller
A Bigger Splash alongside
Dakota Johnson and
Tilda Swinton. In 2016, Fiennes appeared in the
Coen brothers ensemble comedy film
Hail, Caesar! which is set in 1950s Hollywood. Fiennes plays the fictional Laurence Laurentz, an acclaimed European film director in the movie. That same year, he lent his voice in the
stop-motion animated film
Kubo and the Two Strings where he played Raiden the Moon King, Kubo's grandfather. In 2017, he voiced the British butler
Alfred Pennyworth in
The Lego Batman Movie and reprised the role in
The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part (2019). In 2018, he directed and starred in
The White Crow, a biographical drama film about the Russian ballet dancer
Rudolf Nureyev. Fiennes speaks some
Russian, which enabled him to play
Alexander Pushkin in the film. He received the Special Achievement Award for Outstanding Artistic Contribution at
the Tokyo International Film Festival for directing the film
The White Crow. In 2019, Fiennes played the MI6 agent
Norman Darbyshire in Taghi Amirani's feature documentary
Coup 53. Darbyshire, who died in 1993, was the co-author of 1953's
Operation Ajax, a joint MI6–CIA military coup that overthrew democracy in Iran.
2020–present In 2020, Fiennes voiced a tiger in the family fantasy adventure film
Dolittle starring
Robert Downey Jr. In the same year, he appeared in the monologue play
Beat the Devil by
David Hare at the
Bridge Theatre in London, and then in the 2021 film version of the play. Also in 2021, he starred in the British drama film
The Dig playing the Suffolk
archaeologist Basil Brown alongside
Carey Mulligan and
Lily James. The film received positive reviews with critics praising his performance.
The Guardian critic
Mark Kermode described Fiennes's portrayal as having an "admirable eloquence". Later in 2021, Fiennes starred in
Matthew Vaughn's period spy film ''
The King's Man'' and
Cary Joji Fukunaga's
James Bond film
No Time to Die. In 2021, Fiennes returned to the stage in David Hare's latest play
Straight Line Crazy at the
Bridge Theatre in London. In the play, Fiennes portrays New York's legendary urban planner
Robert Moses. His performance has received rave reviews with
Variety declaring, "Fiennes is all boldly convincing, controlled threat, his monomania teetering on the edge of malevolence". In
The Guardians five star rave review, critic
Mark Lawson described Fiennes's performance as "enthralling" and an "acting triumph". It was announced that the production would make its New York stage debut,
Off-Broadway at
The Shed running from October to December in 2022. In 2022, Fiennes starred as chef Julian Slowik in the
Mark Mylod-directed comedy horror
The Menu. For his performance he received a nomination for the
Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. Also in 2022 Fiennes collaborated with his sister, the filmmaker
Sophie Fiennes, translating to the screen his production and performance of
T. S. Eliot's poem,
Four Quartets. The original on-stage performance was described as "a magnificent theatrical experience" and "a poignant one-man show about a world under threat." In Sophie Fiennes's film "the lens and the screen bring a new, even more intimate, perspective". In 2023, Fiennes reunited with the director
Wes Anderson in an anthology of short films adapted from the works of British author,
Roald Dahl,
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Three More (2023). The series, which sees Fiennes play Dahl in the
eponymous first short, also featured performances from
Benedict Cumberbatch,
Dev Patel, and
Ben Kingsley with the eponymous short going on to win the
Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film at the
96th Academy Awards. Fiennes starred on stage as
Macbeth in late 2023 as part of
Simon Godwin's touring production in the UK. The play, which also starred
Indira Varma as
Lady Macbeth, was a success, beginning at Liverpool's The Depot in November, before moving on to Edinburgh, London, and Washington, DC. In 2024, Fiennes starred in the
Edward Berger film
Conclave, for which he received an
Academy Award for Best Actor nomination. In 2025, Fiennes starred in
Danny Boyle's
28 Years Later, the third film in the series which is set in a post-apocalyptic Britain 28 years after
28 Days Later (2002). Fiennes returned to the stage in June 2025, starring as the Victorian stage star Sir
Henry Irving opposite
Miranda Raison who plays the stage actress
Ellen Terry, in David Hare's play
Grace Pervades, which explores the working and romantic relationship of Irving and Terry, with the play transferring to the
West End in April 2026. His first foray in opera direction took place at the
Opéra de Paris in January 2026 with a new production of
Eugene Onegin, where one critic noted that he "warned that he would approach the work as theater. It is hard to say what deserves more admiration: the crowd scenes crafted as living genre paintings or the taut dramatic threads between the protagonists, where singing becomes just one expressive element among others". In 2026, Fiennes will star in
The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, the sixth film in the
Hunger Games series, as President Coriolanus Snow, previously portrayed by
Donald Sutherland and
Tom Blyth. ==Personal life==