Joseph Fiennes
Joseph Fiennes
Joseph Alberic Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennesis an English film and stage actor known for his portrayals of William Shakespeare in Shakespeare in Love, 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, Commisar Danilov in Enemy at the Gates, and Monsignor Timothy Howard in the second season of the TV series American Horror Story...
NationalityBritish
ProfessionActor
Date of Birth27 May 1970
Yeah, I guess that's fair, ... And in a weird way my childhood was a great precursor to where I am now. Every year I had to learn how to interact in a new schoolyard, reinventing myself if one character didn't work. In hindsight I can see that it was great actor's training. But it was just the art of survival, really. Trying not to get beaten up in the playground.
Yes, in a way. Film is a by-product of my love of theatre. Theatre is for me the greater challenge. In many ways it requires more skill.
There are a few remarkable directors who have a great creative streak and then simply go on streaking ... Today we have another remarkable director in our midst.
he challenge is finding the modern conduit for the audience, having fun and really looking at the duality of this particular character, that is both devil and angel, and on the cusp of losing control of the pagan background, to this newfangled religion called Christianity. There's a great backdrop there, and just a whole dark side with the magic.
It's all about human condition, ultimately. That's what you're looking at. You're also looking to have some fun, as well, because that also translates. Maybe wearing tights once in awhile helped. Getting up on a horse a couple of times before might have helped.
A large part of how an actor works and their process is the stimulation of what's around you, and none more so than in a period piece. This is a modern piece, as much as it is set in a different time, age and myth. If it wasn't relevant, it wouldn't have been made and we wouldn't be putting our energy into it. It's relevant for us today because, in some ways, it throws up a mirror to all of us. As an actor, you get stimulus and you're effected by that, whether it's costumes or funny beards or castles.
Pretty much all films I've seen that depict the life of Christ end with the Crucifixion, almost like the filmmakers don't know what to do after.
Maybe we need more dialogue in terms of our faith, in terms of those who are believers, or even nonbelievers, about that aspect, and what that might mean if you were interpreting. You don't have to believe it; maybe you could draw a metaphor from it.
I think religion might throw up a kind of resistance, but I think if one talks about conditioning we can all kind of understand that.
Conditioning can be not a big heavy thing. (For instance:) I've got a brand new pair of shoes, by mistake you step on it and you make them muddy and dirty, I'm conditioned to go "Hey, what are you doing?" That's my conditioning, I have a response. So, maybe we have to learn to find the pause before we react, because reaction is our conditioning.
I'm a huge admirer of Pope Francis and everything he stands for. I think he's an incredibly connected spiritual and authentic being.