In this weekend's Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, Ralph Fiennes reprises his role as Lord Voldemort, the noseless, screamy "Dark Lord" archenemy of our bespectacled box office hero Harry Potter. How did the English Oscar-nominee transform himself from chilling Nazi war criminal to a J. Lo love interest and back again to another kind of purity-seeking evildoer?
You can always trace a direct line through a few important roles to illustrate what led to an actor's current success. So let's look at nine pivotal performances that track the evolution of villain extraordinaire Ralph Fiennes.
Wuthering Heights (1992)
Like any respectable British thespian, Fiennes studied acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art before logging a few years in the Royal Shakespeare Company. From there, Fiennes earned his first film role in Peter Kosminsky's adaptation of Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights. As the tortured Heathcliff, the actor exuded a "dark sexuality" that Steven Spielberg would later cite as the reason for casting the newcomer in Schindler's List the next year. "I saw sexual evil," Spielberg explained. "It is all about subtlety: there were moments of kindness that would move across his eyes and then instantly run cold."
Schindler's List (1993)
While some actors and actresses wait decades for an Oscar nomination (that oftentimes never arrives), Fiennes earned his first nod from the Academy for his second feature film role. As Amon Goeth, the evil SS officer who runs the Płaszów concentration camp (and uses its inhabitants for target practice), Fiennes earned critical praise for the first in a series of brilliantly acted villains on his resume. For the role, the actor gained nearly 30 pounds, watched historic newsreels and spoke to Holocaust survivors who had come in contact with Goeth.
The English Patient (1996)
After scaling back the evil to play a polished trivia contestant in Robert Redford's Quiz Show, Fiennes earned his second Oscar nomination for playing the title character (even though he's not really English) opposite his Wuthering Heights co-star Juliette Binoche in Anthony Minghella's sprawling Best Picture. A tip of the hat for graduating from Academy Award-nominated war criminal to Academy Award-nominated heartthrob within three short years.
The Avengers(1998)
Until 1998's The Avengers -- of no relation to the Marvel adaptation of the same name due in theaters next year -- Fiennes had enjoyed consistently positive critical and commercial feedback at the movies. But even superb actors make bad choices (See Robert De Niro in any Fockers movie). Enter The Avengers, Jeremiah Chechik's adaptation of the British TV spy series of the same name which pitted Fiennes against Uma Thurman's Emma Peel in a dueling/romantic relationship that reviled moviegoers and critics alike. Fiennes was nominated for two Razzies (Worst Actor and Worst Onscreen Couple) and the New York Post called The Avengers "a big fat gob of maximum crapulosity, the kind of shallow, stupid, big-budget cowpile that smells of Joel Schumacher." The English Patient, The Avengers was not.
The Miracle Maker (2000)
I now present you with another milestone in the career of Ralph Fiennes: The Miracle Maker, a credit that proves that even actors capable of portraying some of the most bone-chilling miscreants in the history of cinema can mix it up. In case you haven't caught this flick yet, just know that Fiennes voices an eerie, stop motion-animated Jesus Christ. Julie Christie, Ian Holme, Alfred Molina and Emily Mortimer also lend their voices to this religious film from directors Derek W. Hayes and Stanislav Sokolov.
Watch the entire film on YouTube here.
Spider (2002)
Speaking of eerie, the actor returned to the realm of the disturbed (only this time, the micro-budgeted disturbed) to work with venereal horror director David Cronenberg. Based on Patrick McGrath's stark novel, the film centered on a schizophrenic tormented by his own childhood and blurred the lines of real and psychotic fantasy. In order to pull off the low-budget film, Cronenberg, Fiennes and co-star Miranda Richardson all agreed to waive their salaries.
Maid in Manhattan (2002)
2002 was a big year for Fiennes, not just because of Spider -- or his menacing role as a deranged serial killer in the Silence of the Lambs prequel Red Dragon -- but because Fiennes appeared in a rare role as a rom-com lead. Playing a Republican senatorial candidate who falls in love with a hotel maid disguised as a socialite (Jennifer Lopez), Fiennes proved that he could shed character complexity for a brainless (but highly enjoyable) modern-day Cinderella story.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011)
This weekend, Fiennes reprises his role of Lord Voldemort -- whom he first played in 2005's Goblet of Fire -- for his final showdown with Harry Potter. The successful franchise has introduced Fiennes' onscreen nefariousness to an entirely new generation and has proven to be the actor's most lucrative project at the box office yet.
Coriolanus (2011)
After nearly two decades in front of the camera, Fiennes made his directorial debut earlier this year with his modern-day adaptation of the Shakespeare play Coriolanus, featuring himself as the title character opposite Gerard Butler, Brian Cox, Vanessa Redgrave and Jessica Chastain. Our own Stephanie Zacharek commended Fiennes' rookie filmmaking chops and ambition from last year's Berlinale; Coriolanus has been picked up for domestic distribution by the Weinstein Co.; its Dec. 2 release date places it in the prime of awards season.
