Ralph Fiennes, the guest on this episode of The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast — which was recorded last week in front of 2,000 people at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, where Fiennes was honored with the Outstanding Performer of the Year Award in recognition of his Oscar-nominated performance in Conclave — has been widely regarded as one of the world’s greatest screen actors for more than 30 years.
To name just a few of the films in which the Englishman has shined: Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List, Robert Redford’s Quiz Show, Kathryn Bigelow‘s Strange Days, Anthony Minghella’s The English Patient, István Szabó’s Sunshine, Neil Jordan’s The End of the Affair, David Cronenberg’s Spider, Fernando Meirelles’ The Constant Gardener, Martin McDonagh’s In Bruges, Stephen Daldry’s The Reader, Bigelow’s The Hurt Locker, Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel, Luca Guadagnino’s A Bigger Splash and Mark Mylod’s The Menu; his own films Coriolanus, The Invisible Woman and The White Crow; numerous Harry Potter and James Bond films; and most recently, Edward Berger’s Conclave.
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In Conclave, the 62-year-old plays Cardinal Lawrence, the dean of the College of Cardinals, who is tasked with overseeing the election of a new pope at a time when he is personally experiencing a crisis of faith. It’s one of his best-reviewed performances to date.
Fiennes’ “problem,” if you will, is that he has been so consistently excellent, and for so long, that many people actually take him a bit for granted. Case-in-point: He has accumulated over the course of his career three Oscar nominations — best supporting actor for Schindler’s List and best actor for The English Patient and now Conclave — but he has yet to win. I’m not sure that I can think of anyone alive today who hasn’t won an Oscar who is more deserving of having one… or two… or three!
It’s surely not a coincidence that nine of his co-stars have received Oscar nominations for their work opposite him, three of whom won — Juliette Binoche for The English Patient, Rachel Weisz for The Constant Gardener and Kate Winslet for The Reader; or that six of the films in which he starred were nominated for the best picture Oscar, three of which won — Schindler’s List, The English Patient and The Hurt Locker. Indeed, no actor in history has ever starred in more best picture Oscar winners.
Though The Brutalist’s Adrien Brody won the best actor Golden Globe and Critics Choice awards, and A Complete Unknown’s Timothée Chalamet is widely regarded as the biggest threat to derail him for the best actor SAG and Academy awards, I wouldn’t count out Fiennes. Fiennes is likely to win the best actor BAFTA Award — and, given how long he has been in the business, how many people he has worked with over those years, how consistently great he has been and how truly excellent he is in Conclave specifically, I think he’s actually got a better shot at the Oscar than many are giving him.
In any event, over the course of the conversation in Santa Barbara, Fiennes shared the origin story of his rather unusual name (which is pronounced Rafe Fines); why he thinks he may never direct again; what he’s proudest of about his performance in Conclave; plus much more.
