Ralph Nathaniel Fiennes was born on December 22nd 1962 in Suffolk, England. He studied at the the Chelsea College of Art & Design, before attending the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. His acting education continued in 1987 when he joined Britain's Royal National Theatre and then Royal Shakespeare Company a year later.

His first screen role came in 1980 with his performance as T. E. Lawrence in the television production in A Dangerous Man: Lawrence After Arabia. This led to his role as Heathcliff in the 1192 version of Wuthering Heights.

In 1993 he was selected by Steven Spielberg to play the role of Amon Goeth in the award winning movie Schindler's List. His performance, although disturbing, helped raise his profile in Hollywood and establish him as one of the most in demand actors in the industry.

Ralph cemented his position as one of the world's finest actors with roles in Quiz Show (1994), Strange Days (1995) and The English Patient (1996).

However, in the years that followed, Ralph's career would take a backward step, largely due to the dreadful failure of the big screen remake of The Avengers (1998). Ralph's performance as John Steed was by no means the worst thing in the movie but of all the participants, he took the most flak.

Thankfully in 2005 he returned to form with his wonderful performance as Justin Quayle in the award winning movie The Constant Gardener.