Joseph Fiennes Biography
Summary
"Joseph Alberic Fiennes" (IPA: ) (born May 27, 1970) is an SAG award-winning English film and stage actor. He is perhaps best known for his portrayals of William Shakespeare in "Shakespeare in Love" and Sir Robert Dudley in "Elizabeth".
Personal life
Born in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England, Fiennes is the son of novelist Jennifer Lash and photographer Mark Fiennes. The youngest of six siblings, he was raised in West Cork, Ireland. He is the brother of actor Ralph Fiennes, film makers Sophie Fiennes and Martha Fiennes, composer Magnus Fiennes and, his twin, Jacob Fiennes, a conservationist. His foster brother, Michael Emery, is an archaeologist. He is a cousin of Sir Ranulph Fiennes and eighth cousin of HRH, the Prince of Wales.
An avid philanthropist, Fiennes is involved with several charities, focusing mainly on the elimination of poverty and fund raising for breast cancer research. Fiennes traveled to Angola in 2003 to highlight the work of the Christian Aid charity.
He helped raise funds for the organization by presenting a three part report for BBC News the same year. He is also an ambassador for the Prince's Trust.
Career
After leaving art school, he worked with the Young Vic Youth Theatre. He continued his training at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. His first professional stage appearance was in the West End in "The Woman in Black", followed by "A Month in the Country" opposite Helen Mirren. Fiennes, then, was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company for two seasons.
He made his television debut as Willy in "The Vacillations of Poppy Carew". His first feature film was 1996's "Stealing Beauty", co-starring Liv Tyler. In 1998, Fiennes appeared in two films that were nominated at the Academy Awards: he played Robert Dudley opposite Cate Blanchett in "Elizabeth" and he also portrayed William Shakespeare opposite Gwyneth Paltrow in his most popular film to date "Shakespeare in Love", which won the award for Best Picture. Following the success of "Shakespeare in Love", Fiennes turned down a 5 picture deal from a major studio and withdrew from mainstream cinema. Instead he chose to return to the theatre. He remains highly selective of his work and has famously turned down major film productions in order to appear on stage.
Fiennes has also worked in other mediums. In 2003 he lent his voice as Proteus in the DreamWorks animated film "Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas" opposite Brad Pitt. The same year he starred in the limited-release film "Luther", playing Martin Luther, and he also appeared in "The Merchant of Venice" , in which he portrayed Bassanio.
In 2006, he appeared in "The Darwin Awards" opposite Winona Ryder, and in "Running With Scissors", once again teaming him up with Gwyneth Paltrow. Fiennes will return to the theatre again this year in the one-man play "Unicorns, Almost" about World War II poet Keith Douglas at the Old Vic .
In Spring 2006, he was in South Africa to commence filming "Goodbye Bafana" with director Bille August. Fiennes will portray James Gregory, author of the book "Goodbye Bafana: Nelson Mandela, My Prisoner, My Friend".
In October, 2007, it was annouced that Fiennes will star in a new FX series to begin shooting at the end of October. Fiennes will play Bob, a married man with two kids, who will eventually realize he's a transsexual. Fiennes is set to co-star opposite Blythe Danner and Robert Wagner.
Filmography
Films
"Stealing Beauty" (1996)
"Shakespeare in Love" (1998)
"Elizabeth" (1998)
"Martha, Meet Frank, Daniel and Laurence" (1998)
"Forever Mine" (1999)
"Enemy at the Gates" (2001)
"Dust" (2001)
"Killing Me Softly" (2002)
"Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas" (2003) (voice)
"Luther" (2003)
"The Merchant of Venice" (2004)
"The Great Raid" (2005)
"Running with Scissors" (2006)
"The Darwin Awards" (2006)
"The Red Baron" (2007)
"Goodbye Bafana" (2007)
Awards
Won
1998 - Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Most Promising Actor - "Shakespeare in Love"
1999 - Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Male Newcomer - "Shakespeare in Love"
1999 - Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Breakthrough Artist - "Elizabeth"
1999 - Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Most Promising Actor - "Shakespeare in Love"
1999 - MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss (with Gwyneth Paltrow) - "Shakespeare in Love"
1999 - Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast - "Shakespeare in Love"
Nominations
1998 - Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Most Promising Actor - "Shakespeare in Love"
1999 - Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Male Newcomer - "Shakespeare in Love"
1999 - Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Breakthrough Artist - "Elizabeth"
1999 - Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Most Promising Actor - "Shakespeare in Love"
1999 - MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss (with Gwyneth Paltrow) - "Shakespeare in Love"
1999 - Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast - "Shakespeare in Love"
1999 - BAFTA Film Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role - "Shakespeare in Love"
1999 - MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Male Performance - "Shakespeare in Love"
1999 - Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Male Actor in a Leading Role - "Shakespeare in Love"
1999 - Teen Choice Award for Sexiest Love Scene - "Shakespeare in Love"
2005 - Golden Satellite Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Comedy or Musical - "The Merchant of Venice"
External links
(Joseph Fiennes in Angola) BBC News
(Goodbye Bafana) - Official movie site
Credit
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article about Joseph Fiennes.
