What movie was you're first Ralph Fiennes discovery?

[Lyra]

I haven't posted anything on this site yet so I thought I would begin at the beginning. If it's possible to recall, in what movie or television program did you have you're first Ralph moment? A place in time when the light came on and you realized what talent and/or handsomeness :) you were witnessing. The moment came for me when I was watching Red Dragon. It's the scene where he is waiting in his van for Reba to walk out of the building to wait for the bus. The way the blue lighting accentuated his facial features is what made my jaw drop. So, yes, it was his unbelievable handsomeness that hooked me at first. But then once I was hooked, I realized what a talented and phenomenal actor he is.

Can you remember the moment it happened to you?

[trugannini]

In The English Patient watching him uncover the layers of 'protection' he had built around himself. The struggle he projected with only a raised eyebrow, a shift of the gaze, resisting something which was bigger than he was, drawn inexorably into a place of exposure which he feared mightily. It wasn't a moment exactly, but the minutes going by during this hopeless resistance, when he came into full view and the lust and joy he then projected almost made me faint.
I saw this on DVD in 2008. The strange thing is, I saw it at the cinema in 1998, and nothing happened. I was in a bad place at that time, and certainly was not focussed on the movie. Now that I have awoken to Him, I just cannot believe how I missed it. I now own every movie, and TV/movie he has ever made, and 'love' him more and more as time goes by. His talent, for me, is unsurpassed. I've been going to theatre and movies for 60 years, and I have never seen an actor such as this one. I remember Olivier very well, but Ralph Fiennes surpasses even he.

[Glynnis]

I saw Harry Potter 1st, and I was like "God the Voldemort was perfectly cast! He's awesome!"

Then I saw Schindler's List, and the obsession avalanched from there! His ability to do more in a look then most actors can do reading a whole script amazed me. He could read the telephone book and still amaze me.

He fully immerses himself in his roles and even when playing evil incarnate, he finds the human underneath.

Not to mention he's absolutely gorgeous!

[trugannini]

Yes Glynnis...total immersion in character......, and as you say he always manages to find the humanity. His portrayal of the Duke the TD, when the script didn't give him much to work with, was incredible. Oh, and by the way, I agree, he is the most gorgeous male to ever walk on the earth. :)

[Marcella Heer]

Ralph as Voldemort....?
no,
I´d kill to see him as Snape. And Rickman as Voldie.
Whenever I read the Potter tales, Snape looks like Ralph for me. The tourmented soul, the ambiguous character, his love story with Lily.... perfect for Ralph. A blackhaired Almasy with some Goeth in it.
I love Rickman, but he is too old for Snape. Snape is only 38 when he dies.

[Pollux]

Hi Lyra! I can't remember which scene it was but it was Red Dragon, too. I guess it was his complete perfomance. That he was able to give this serial killer more depth and not only playing him manic and psychopathic.

[Liza]

In a way, I'm like you Renée. I have watched Ralph Fiennes in films for years. Everything from Wuthering Heights (which I remember thinking was the best film version and best Heathcliff ever) to Maid in Manhattan....and it never dawned on me that it was the same actor in all those films. I guess there was just enough time and space between viewings. It never registered that the guy who played Heathcliff was also Almasy or Van Doren or Goeth. It's what you all have said. Ralph's talent is such that when you see his performances, you see the individual character, not just the actor in just another role. I love that about him! : )

I enjoyed the films and performances, but his person never clicked with me. Then about three years ago I had a dream, seemingly out of the blue. It was a few days after seeing one of his films, one I had seen a couple of times before and again...he had not made any kind of conscious impression on me. I saw it and forgot about it. Now I'll apologize ahead of time for being vague, but this is all very close to home and while wanting to share in the discussion, I want to be careful too. I'll say that the dream was no great passionate love scene or anything like that. It was just quiet moment, but one that has stayed with me and always will. : )

I will answer the burning question....what film did I see a few days before that fateful dream??....

Maid in Manhattan : )

Ok....you can all laugh now.... : )

[fiennesite]

My first Ralph OMG moment was when I saw the preview for Strange Days...the trailer for that is amazing...and he just sucked me in with his "I'm the Santa Claus of the subconscious"...and so began the love affair. I ran out to see it the minute it opened and I was hooked. From there it began...and a few years later I started the Interactive Fan Site/AKA Fiennes Forum...etc...what an evolution it has been. But to this day...Strange Days remains my favorite RF film...the kiss...well...I think the look in his eyes right before he kisses Mace is so intense and so true...if a guy looks at you like that...you lose your ability to speak. Sigh....
Thanks for the memories...great topic! :-)
Mary

[Abs]

Alright....mines a bit different than most, but here goes...

I am not all that old (most of you know me as little warrior)....and when I was five (ish) my favorite animated movie was The Prince of Egypt....

Well, I fell asleep to the movie every night....so literally, I would fall asleep to Ralph's voice each night.......As a little kid, I was very absorbed with sounds....they interested me very much...so, I listened to a lot of music and stuff....however, what attracted me to the movies that I loved were the voices and the music...I loved The Lion King with the voice of James Earl Jones, as well as its music...and then with The Prince of Egypt, I found Val Kilmer's and Ralph's voices very soothing...it's hard to explain, but I did...so, it became my favorite movie.

Then, after I got older, I saw Schindler's List. I was very impressed with his performance as Amon Goeth, and for some reason I remembered Ralph's name so as to look for him in other movies. One day (I don't remember how, but..), I found out that the same actor was that of the voice of Rameses in The Prince of Egypt....well, immediately I became interested....and that was how it began :)

[Liza]

I know...I enjoy the performances by Ralph and Liam Neeson and Ben Kingsley. It was a wonderfully done story, but a very hard one to watch!

[stella]

I remember it like it was yesterday, watching a preview on Sky tv for a new film called The English Patient. I was so impressed I went alone to see it on the day it opened - even though it was my wedding anniversary. The ballroom scene, where he looks into KST's eyes. RF in that dinner suit.That was the beginning of my my little obsession. 14th March 1997. I saw it three times in the following ten days and the rest as they say......is history.

[Sandra Conti]

Hi Lyra,

What a superb question. I remember falling in love with the character he played in Prime Suspect 1 in '92, and I took note of his name, but I didn't see him again until The English Patient and was hooked the moment he came on the screen -- when he's discussing the mountain shaped like a woman's back.. I haven't been able to take my eyes off him since.

[Alice]

I had the great pleasure of seeing Ralph in four RSC productions at the beginning of his career, but oddly enough I watched "Schindler's List" without realizing that that the chap playing Amon Goth was the same man I'd seen on stage as Henry VI, the Dauphin in "King John", Berowne and Troilus! It wasn't until I saw TEP that I made the connection and I've adored him ever since.