Joseph Alberic Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes (; born 27 May 1970), known as Joseph Fiennes, is an English actor. His numerous accolades include one Screen Actors Guild Award as well as nominations for a BAFTA Award and a Laurence Olivier Award.
He is known for his portrayals of William Shakespeare in Shakespeare in Love (1998), for which he was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role, Sir Robert Dudley in Elizabeth (1998), Commisar Danilov in Enemy at the Gates (2001), Martin Luther in Luther (2003), and Monsignor Timothy Howard in the of the TV series American Horror Story (2012âÂÂ2013). His performance as Commander Fred Waterford in the TV series The Handmaid's Tale (2017âÂÂ2021) 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.
Joseph Alberic Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes was born on 27 May 1970) in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England, the son of Mark Fiennes (1933âÂÂ2004), a farmer and photographer, and Jennifer Lash (1938âÂÂ1993), 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 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.
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 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role.
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 ' 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 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. 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.
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.
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 of American Horror Story, which premiered in October 2012, Fiennes played the role of Monsignor Timothy Howard. From 2017 to 2021, Fiennes starred on the Hulu series The Handmaid's Tale as Commander Fred Waterford.
In August 2009 Fiennes married MarÃÂa Dolores Diéguez, a Swiss model of Spanish/Galician origin, in a Roman Catholic ceremony in Tuscany. They have two daughters named Eva and Isabel. The family reside in Mallorca, Spain near Palma.
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.
â released in U.S. as Egypt with the World's Greatest Explorer by the National Geographic