Ralph Fiennes made a significant impact in the early 1990s with his role in Schindler’s List, which earned him widespread acclaim and an Oscar nomination. However, the British actor, now 63, found the experience both exhilarating and unsettling.
Fiennes portrayed the menacing concentration camp commandant Amon Göth in Steven Spielberg’s 1993 Holocaust drama, a performance that marked his breakthrough in film. Prior to this, he had spent the previous decade performing on stage and had made his big-screen debut just two years earlier as Heathcliff in Peter Kosminsky’s Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights.
The success of Schindler’s List catapulted his career into the stratosphere. While he found the attention exciting, Fiennes has spoken about the mixed emotions he felt during that time.
“I’ve never felt overwhelmed by fame, but I have been unnerved by it,” he shared with The Times. “Around the time of Schindler’s List, the film and my performance received an incredible positive response. It was exciting, but also unnerving because the whole orientation of the press related to the movie industry turns its attention to you.”
He explained that while the initial praise was gratifying, it became overwhelming as people began projecting their own expectations onto him.
Despite not winning the Oscar for the role—Tommy Lee Jones took the award for The Fugitive—Fiennes won a Bafta. Following Schindler’s List, he appeared in Robert Redford’s biographical drama Quiz Show (1994) and received another Oscar nomination for his role in The English Patient (1996).
Throughout the 2000s, Fiennes continued to build a diverse acting portfolio, starring in films such as Maid in Manhattan, The Constant Gardener, and In Bruges, as well as portraying Lord Voldemort in the Harry Potter franchise.
Recently, he expressed that the opportunity to return as Voldemort may have passed, having played the character in five films between 2005 and 2011.
“I remember being asked the question, would I reprise the part? This was some years ago. And I said, ‘yes, I’d love to.’ But then, nothing’s happened. I think that ship has sailed,” he told the BBC’s The Claudia Winkleman Show.
Meanwhile, the Harry Potter series is being adapted for television by HBO Max. New child stars, including Dominic McLaughlin, Alastair Stour, and Arabella Stanton, will play Harry, Ron, and Hermione respectively. Other cast members include John Lithgow as Dumbledore, Nick Frost as Hagrid, and Paapa Essiedu as Snape.
The first season of the TV adaptation will air this Christmas and will focus on J.K. Rowling’s first novel, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.
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