Overview (4)

Mini Bio (1)

Joseph Alberic Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes was born in Salisbury, Wiltshire, to Jennifer Anne Mary Alleyne (Lash), a novelist, and Mark Fiennes, a photographer. He is one of six children. Four of his siblings are also in the arts: Ralph Fiennes, an actor; Martha Fiennes, a director; Magnus Fiennes, a musician; and Sophie Fiennes, a producer. He is of English, Irish, and Scottish origin.



He was brought up in West Cork, Ireland. He left art school, and began working with the Young Vic Youth Theatre, and then went on to train 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. He joined the Royal Shakespeare Company for two seasons and performed roles in Dennis Potter's Son Of Man, Les Enfants Du Paradis, Troilus and Cressida, and Peter Whelan's The Herbal Bed.

- IMDb Mini Biography By: MsMossie <msmossie@hotmail.com>

Spouse (1)

Trade Mark (1)

Frequently plays a character who writes. In most of his films, he has played characters who write either novels, plays, poetry or other literary works.



Trivia (43)

Fraternal twin of Jacob Mark Fiennes (a gamekeeper).



Son of late novelist Jini Fiennes (aka Jennifer Lash).





While it is already mentioned how Fiennes' characters in Shakespeare in Love (1998) and Elizabeth (1998) were both married and cheating on their wives, there is more. Both the characters failed to tell their lovers that he was married, and both the lovers found out from someone else.

Chosen as one of the 50 most sexiest stars by People-magazine in 1999.





Is the youngest of 6 children - older siblings; Ralph Fiennes (b. 22 Dec 1962), Martha Fiennes (b. 1964), Magnus Fiennes (b. 1965), Sophie Fiennes (b. 1967) and Jacob Mark "Jake" Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes (b. 27 May 1970). Jacob is Joseph's fraternal twin, is married to Melanie Plaice and has two children Teale Isabella (b. 24 July 2000) and Nathaniel (b. 17 July 2002). Joseph also has a foster brother, Michael Emery (b. 31 Dec 1952) who has been with the family since he was 11.



Was Roman Polanski 's first choice for the main role in Der Pianist (2002), but turned it down due to a previous commitment to the theatre.

Has toyed with the idea of being a painter, and still carries a sketchbook around.



Often plays characters who write either novels, plays, poetry or other literary works.



Is involved in a number of charities and causes, including The Prince's Trust, of which he's an ambassador.



Greatly skilled at swimming, horse riding, tennis and rock-climbing.





Was tipped to play mountaineer George Mallory on film (2001).



Is reported to have been in talks to re-unite with Gwyneth Paltrow in a new British-backed production of John Webster 's The Duchess of Malfi.



Reported to have been in talks with Bernardo Bertolucci to star in a film based on the life of 16th-century artist Gesualdo da Venosa.

Tipped to play a father in search of his young son in the period thriller Jeremy Brock.



Tipped to star as Lord Byron on film, after having played the poet for the BBC radio series 'Byron's Women'.





Was due to play Iago in the West End in a production of "Othello" back in 2001, which was to be directed by Michael Grandage , after having successfully teamed up with the director in Christopher Marlowe 's "Edward II", where Fiennes played the title role.



Was set to succeed Omar Sharif as Yuri Zhivago, in a remake of the classic Doktor Schiwago (1965).

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



8th cousin to HRH The Prince of Wales.



Attended art school in Suffolk, England at the age of 17.



Graduated from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama (London) in 1993.





(2002-2003) Met Filipina-Australian girlfriend Natalie Mendoza in Queensland, Australia, while filming The Great Raid - Tag der Befreiung (2005) in 2002. He got her to take acting classes at the Bristol Old Vic, and move in with him to Notting Hill, West London in September 2002.



Lost 21 pounds in order to play POW Major Gibson in The Great Raid - Tag der Befreiung (2005).



He turned down a lucrative five-picture deal with Miramax after the success of Shakespeare in Love (1998) and Elizabeth (1998). He traveled to India instead.

Moved 14 times during his childhood between London, Wiltshire and Ireland.



Is dyslexic.



Has 2 daughters Sam born March 8, 2010 and Isabel born December 29, 2011.



Cousin to Sir Ranulph Twistleton-Wykeham Fiennes the polar explorer.



He has English, Northern Irish, Irish, and Scottish ancestry. Many of his recent ancestors lived in India, during the British colonial period.



His Swiss wife, Maria Dolores Diéguez, was an internationally successful model and came in 3rd at the Miss Switzerland 2003 contest. They began their relationship in summer 2005 and married in Tuscany in August 2009.





As of 2018, the only two films he appeared in that were nominated for Best Picture Oscars, Shakespeare in Love (1998) and Elizabeth (1998), were both released in 1998. Shakespeare in Love won in the category.

Personal Quotes (13)

Being the youngest makes you long for more of a voice. You find that voice early in theatrics of the kitchen. I was the one screaming, 'Hey, where is my food?'.



I was in this guy's office in LA two years ago and he said: 'Love your work, Joe, love your work.' I'm thinking, wow, he came all the way to catch me as Christ in Son of Man at the Barbican. I asked what he'd seen me in and he replied: 'Nothing' - without a flicker of irony. I thought, OK, that's how it works.





I withdrew after Shakespeare in Love (1998) and went back to the theater, to what I know. I went back to what my initial voice was, which was to find a range and freedom and a creative energy. If that meant not following up with a typical leading-man role, then that's what it is. I'm an actor, and whatever speaks to me I will do.

I've always believed that you shouldn't want to mend a broken heart, because that's someone you don't want to forget. Scars can be good.



It takes years to establish yourself, and then you have one big film and everyone calls you an overnight success. You think, 'Christ, I've been sweating and crying for seven years.'



It's weird. I never hid adolescence. I kind of bypassed it, and I'm a bit angry that I didn't go through all the angst. I had the acne but no angst. From the age of about five to twelve I was very bad, a hideous little terror who beat people up. I was a member of a Rough Gang - we went around and terrorised all the pupils in school. I was this really nasty kid, and then overnight I turned into the man I am now.



I don't read reviews. I can always spot an actor who's read his reviews, because if they're good, he's swaying about the stage, and if they're bad, he's changed his performance. He comes in limping or something.



For a lot of British actors, the theatre is home. It's what they did before you knew them, as it were.



I'm a believer, however naively, that someone will place me in a project because they've seen my work, rather than me being bullish or so ambitious that I get the part by any other means.



What's that Russian saying? 'How do you make God Laugh? - Tell him your plans.' It's kind of true.





"But it's a strange thing when people judge you because you're not doing some big Hollywood film. Are you suggesting I should be in Ein Duke kommt selten allein (1979)? I mean, hello?".



"Well, that's his journey. I know that I might have only got Shakespeare in Love (1998) because someone else turned it down; it's a very small marketplace. So it would feel weird to say, 'Oh, yeah I could have been there on Oscar night', because the whole chemistry of the film is built around that particular actor. Who knows if it would have had the same effect with a different cast. It's a mercurial world of alchemy" [on turning down Adrien Brody 's role in Der Pianist (2002) which garnered the actor an Oscar].

Who has gone through their lives without those ups and downs, whether they are a journalist or an actor or a painter or an accountant? There are always going to be times when it doesn't flow as much as you were hoping. So of course I'm going to fail. And when I do fail I hope I fail better and better, again and again. I am happy to fail.

