Joseph Alberic Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes (; born 26 May 1970), known as Joseph Fiennes, is an English actor. His numerous accolades include an Actor Award as well as nominations for a BAFTA Award and a Laurence Olivier Award.

Fiennes rose to stardom portraying William Shakespeare in the romantic comedy Shakespeare in Love (1998), for which he was nominated for the Actor Award and the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role. He also portrayed Sir Robert Dudley in the biographical drama Elizabeth (1998), Commisar Danilov in the war drama Enemy at the Gates (2001), and Martin Luther in the historical film Luther (2003).

On television, he portrayed Monsignor Timothy Howard in the second season of the TV series American Horror Story (2012–2013). His performance as Commander Fred Waterford in the TV series The Handmaid's Tale (2017–2021) was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 2018. On the stage, Fiennes's 2023 portrayal of Gareth Southgate in James Graham's Dear England earned him a nomination for a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor.

Early life and education

Joseph Alberic Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes was born on 26 May 1970 in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England, the son of Mark Fiennes (1933–2004), a farmer and photographer, and Jennifer Lash (1938–1993), a writer. His siblings are: actor Ralph Fiennes; directors Martha Fiennes and Sophie Fiennes; composer Magnus Fiennes; and conservationist Jacob Fiennes, Joseph's twin brother. They lived mainly in Suffolk as children. His distant cousin is Sir Ranulph (Ran) Fiennes, a decorated English explorer.

Fiennes trained to be an actor at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, graduating in 1993.

Career 1990–1999: Early roles and breakthrough

Fiennes' first professional stage appearance was in the West End in The Woman in Black, followed by A Month in the Country. He then became a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company for two seasons.

He made his television debut as Willy in the 1995 television film adaptation of The Vacillations of Poppy Carew. His first feature film was 1996's Stealing Beauty. In 1998, Fiennes appeared in two films that were nominated at the Academy Awards: he played Robert Dudley in Elizabeth and he portrayed William Shakespeare in Shakespeare in Love, receiving nominations for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role and the Actor Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role.

2000–2016: Established actor In 2001, Fiennes appeared in the film Enemy at the Gates. In 2002, he starred in the independent film Killing Me Softly. 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 2004 film version of The Merchant of Venice, in which he portrayed Bassanio. Fiennes returned to the theatre in 2006 to perform in the one-man play Unicorns, Almost about World War II poet Keith Douglas at the Old Vic. Also in 2006, he appeared in the films The Darwin Awards, Running with Scissors, and Goodbye Bafana.

Fiennes starred in the ABC science fiction series FlashForward, which debuted on 24 September 2009 and ran through 27 May 2010, as Mark Benford.. He starred in Starz's 10-part series, Camelot, as the wizard Merlin. In the second season of American Horror Story, which premiered in October 2012, Fiennes played the role of Monsignor Timothy Howard. In Goodbye Bafana Fiennes portrayed James Gregory, author of the book Goodbye Bafana: Nelson Mandela, My Prisoner, My Friend. He portrayed Roman Tribune Clavius in the 2016 biblical film, Risen alongside his brother's Harry Potter co-star, Tom Felton. Felton shared his recollections of filming scenes with Fiennes in his memoirs and praised his performance.

2017–present From 2017 to 2021, Fiennes starred on the Hulu series The Handmaid's Tale as Commander Fred Waterford. In 2019, he was described in The Guardian as "the go-to actor for English cultural history". In 2023, he appeared in the play Dear England, portraying the England football manager Gareth Southgate.

Personal life In August 2009, Fiennes married María Dolores Diéguez, a Swiss model and photographer of Spanish/Galician origin, in a Catholic ceremony in Tuscany. They have two daughters. The family resided in Mallorca, Spain near Palma, then later moved back to London.

Charity work Fiennes was one of the celebrities to design and sign his own card for the UK-based charity Thomas Coram Foundation for Children. The cards were auctioned on eBay in May 2014.

Acting credits

Films Year Title Role Notes 1996 Stealing Beauty Christopher Fox 1998 Martha, Meet Frank, Daniel and Laurence Laurence Released as The Very Thought of You in the US Elizabeth Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester Shakespeare in Love William Shakespeare 1999 Forever Mine Manuel Esquema/Alan Riply 2000 Rancid Aluminum Sean Deeny 2001 Enemy at the Gates Commisar Danilov Dust Elijah 2002 Leo Stephen Killing Me Softly Adam Tallis 2003 Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas Proteus Voice role Luther Martin Luther 2004 The Merchant of Venice Bassanio 2005 The Great Raid Major Gibson Man to Man Jamie Dodd 2006 Running with Scissors Neil Bookman The Darwin Awards Michael Burrows 2007 Goodbye Bafana James Gregory 2008 The Escapist Lenny Drake The Red Baron Arthur Roy Brown You Me and Captain Longbridge Narrator Spring 1941 Artur Planck 2009 Against the Current Paul Thompson 2014The Games Maker MorodianHerculesKing Eurystheus 2015StrangerlandMatthew ParkerPsyAmerican man 2016RisenClaviusOn Wings of Eagles (The Last Race)Eric Liddell 2023 The MotherAdrian Lovell TBAThe Way of the Wind TBAPost-production

Television Year Title Role Notes 1995 The Vacillations of Poppy Carew Willy Television film 2008 Pretty/Handsome Bob Fitzpayne Unsold TV pilot 2009–10 FlashForward Mark Benford 22 episodes 2011 Camelot Merlin 10 episodes 2012–13 American Horror Story: Asylum Monsignor Timothy Howard 10 episodes 2017 Urban Myths Michael Jackson Episode: "Elizabeth, Michael, and Marlon" (Unaired) 2017–2021 The Handmaid's Tale Commander Fred Waterford 36 episodes 2019 Fiennes: Return to the Nile† Himself 3 episodes 2019 Sherwood Sheriff Nottingham (voice) 6 episodes 2024 Royal Kill List Himself 3 episodes Fiennes Return To The Wild Himself Two-part documentary; also features Sir Ranulph Fiennes 2025 Prisoner 951 Richard Ratcliffe 4 episodes 2026 Young Sherlock Silas Holmes 8 episodes 2026 Dear England Gareth Southgate Four-part drama † released in U.S. as Egypt with the World's Greatest Explorer by the National Geographic

Theatre Year Title Role Venue 1993 The Woman in Black Fortune Theatre, London 1994 A Month in the Country Belyaev, Guildford The Albery Theatre London 1995 A View from the Bridge Rodolpho Bristol Old Vic, Strand Theatre London 1996 Les Enfants du Paradis Lacenaire Royal Shakespeare Company, London 1996–97 Son Of Man Jesus Christ Royal Shakespeare Company, London 1996–97 Troilus and Cressida Troilus Royal Shakespeare Company, London 1996–1997 The Herbal Bed Rafe Smith Royal Shakespeare Company, London 1997 As You Like It Silvius Royal Shakespeare Company, London 1998 Real Classy Affair Billy Royal Court Theatre Company, London 2001 Christopher Marlowe's Edward II Edward II Crucible Theatre, Sheffield 2001 War Poet's Reading Performer Apollo Theatre, London 2002 Othello Iago West End, London 2003 Love's Labour's Lost Berowne Royal National Theatre, London 2005–06 Epitaph for George Dillon George Dillon Royal National Theatre, London 2008 2,000 Feet Away Deputy Bush Theatre, London 2009 Cyrano de Bergerac Cyrano Chichester Festival Theatre 2016 Ross T. E. Lawrence Chichester Festival Theatre 2023 Dear England Gareth Southgate Royal National Theatre, London

Awards and nominations Organizations Year Award Category Result Actor Awards 1998 Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture Shakespeare in Love Outstanding Actor in a Leading Role 2017 Outstanding Ensemble in a Drama Series The Handmaid's Tale (season one) 2018 Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series The Handmaid's Tale (season two) Outstanding Ensemble in a Drama Series 2019 The Handmaid's Tale (season three) 2021 The Handmaid's Tale (season four) BAFTA Awards 1998 Best Actor in a Leading Role Shakespeare in Love Blockbuster Entertainment 1998 Favorite Male Newcomer Shakespeare in Love Critics' Choice Awards 1998 Breakthrough Artist Elizabeth Shakespeare in Love Chicago Film Critics Association 1998 Most Promising Actor Shakespeare in Love Cinema for Peace 2008 Best Short Film The Spirit Las Vegas Film Critics Society 1998 Most Promising Actor Shakespeare in Love Laurence Olivier Award 2024 Best Actor Dear England MTV Movie & TV Awards1998 Best Breakthrough Male Performance Shakespeare in Love Best Kiss (with Gwyneth Paltrow) 2019 Best Villain The Handmaid's Tale Primetime Emmy Awards 2018 Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series The Handmaid's Tale Satellite Awards 2005 Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture The Merchant of Venice Teen Choice Awards 1998 Sexiest Love Scene (with Gwyneth Paltrow) Shakespeare in Love WhatsOnStage Awards 2024 Best Performer in a PlayDear England

Discography 2002 – contributed to the compilation album, When Love Speaks, which consists of Shakespearean sonnets and play excerpts – "Be not afeard, the isle is full of noises" and "Our revels are now ended" (both from The Tempest) 2010 – starred in a series of readings of literary love scenes for The Carte Noire Readers. Joseph Fiennes reads Presumed Innocent by Scott Turow Joseph Fiennes reads The Brightest Star in the Sky by Marian Keyes

See also List of actors in Royal Shakespeare Company productions List of British actors

Notes

References

Print sources

External links

Joseph Fiennes in Angola BBC News