Today's Evil Beet Gossip

Ralph Fiennes on Playing The Villian, Domestic Life, and Jennifer Lopez

A photo of Ralph Fiennes

Yesterday, while showing you the answers that Ralph Fiennes gave for the Proust Questionnaire, I asked if any of you would ever be interested in hearing more about this dude. As of this moment, three of you said yes! And that’s good enough for me, friends. That’s more than good enough.

See, Ralph did this interview with Details and I thought, like I did with the Proust questionnaire, that he seemed really intriguing and kind of dark. Check it out:

On going from theatre to film: Film was something that happened if you were lucky—it seemed so far away. When I first filmed things, they were always slightly awkward. I remember going up for this film and people came into the drama school and looked at faces. When you went in for theater auditions, people would look at you acting—could you do it?

On his “rock star behavior” after Schindler’s List: I think that what you call “rock-star behavior,” lots of people have indulged in. It doesn’t mean that you’ve let everything go to your head. You’re under pressure, you play, and it gets noticed and written about. When I read about quote-unquote “rock-star behavior” now, I think I was in the beginner’s category.

On Maid in Mahattan: People would say, “When are you going to play something lighthearted? You always play dark, serious types or bad guys.” Then Maid in Manhattan came along. I enjoyed making it and have huge respect for J.Lo, who was, I think, terribly good in it. But that sort of light comic thing is probably not my strength.

On playing the villian: I don’t feel I’m playing villains all the time. I feel I’ve also played some very benign people. Voldemort in Harry Potter is kind of the high-profile villain. Of course the guy in Schindler’s List is a bad guy. No way around that one.

On that time that he made a small child cry while dressed as Voldemort: I wasn’t trying to scare him, but he saw me—I didn’t look like the Voldemort on the screen, but the child cried. The little boy in me was happy to have scared someone. Not in a serious way—of course not.

On having kids: Not at the moment, anyway. I haven’t made any firm decisions. But I can’t say right now that I have a huge parental urge.

On domestic life: I’m not very good at being domesticated. I’ve tried. The domestic life I find claustrophobic—the rituals and habits and patterns. I’m the eldest of six, and we’re all close in age, and that probably informs my reluctance to go there again. . . . This is a rather personal area. I don’t really want to be explaining the way I live.

On that time he was caught having sex with a flight attendant in a bathroom on a plane: I’m not going to comment on that. I’ve never commented on that.

On possibly being knighted: I don’t know if actors should be Sirred up. I don’t know. . . . I’m leaving you with an ambivalent silence.

Well? What do you think? Are we having some Ralph love around here or what?

4 CommentsLeave a comment

  • I love him, but if he doesn’t shack up with someone soon, it’s gonna get harder – a few more hair follicles and he’s gonna look like a blue-eyed Patrick Stewart. And while I love me some Jean-Luc Picard, no one really wants to bone Professor X.

  • Gross. I actually like him less after this interview. So he’s just some non-committal eternal bachelor that tries to grope any woman he perceives as attractive? He has the sense to at least no talk about it. If he could lose the nice clothes, I think he’s fit right in at a frat house.

  • I can’t comment on his personal life its nothing to do with anyone really, though I do like checking anything he appears in, I think he’s really good at his work and like him very much , would love to meet him