174 Quotes by Ralph Fiennes

I’m interested in the spirits of people. In the theatre, there’s the acting part of acting – and I’m not saying that can’t be great – and there’s the essence. To explore that essence, you need a key, a look, a gesture, an insight that unlocks the person’s soul.

There’s a challenge to playing these fantasy figures because they are fantasy figures. You have to enter into this sort of imaginative world of the writer.

You’re meant to be playing the distillation of evil, which can be anything.

And although I’ve been very fortunate in the film work that’s come my way, I need to get back to the stage. If I’m away for a maximum of two years, I feel something’s wrong.

The film depends on the audience’s belief in this relationship.

I learned a lot about acting – watching not just myself but other actors and learning how to distinguish between two great takes. It’s also about one’s own taste in performance.

Going to the movies was a big event in my youth. My father would be the initiator – he’d have me put on a jacket to see a film.

I don’t plan a career. That doesn’t work for me. I just have to go with my gut.

Actors use who they are to be someone else, but I would hate to ever think I’m playing myself. It’s imagining being someone else that is the key motivating thing for me. So when people want to know about me, it makes me a bit unnerved.