British Actors You Should Know: Ralph Fiennes

Ralph Fiennes is one of the most prolific British performers working today. He's had roles in prestige dramas, weirdo comedies, blockbuster franchises, and one-off independent films, playing everything from James Bond's boss and Greek hero Odysseus to a Nazi commandant and a wizard supervillain. He's nominated for Best Actor at the Academy Awards for the third time in 2025, an accolade he has somehow never won before. (Let's go Team Conclave!)

In fact, one of the surest ways you can be sure that Fiennes is a next-level actor is how many times he's been up for a major award and somehow never taken home the trophy. He's been nominated for seven Golden Globes, six Screen Actors Guild Awards, four Saturn Awards, four Satellite Awards, and an Emmy, all to go home empty-handed. He's been up for a BAFTA seven times and only won once.

To put it plainly, Fiennes has been so consistently excellent for so long that it seems as though a lot of critics and awards bodies seem to be taking him and his skill for granted. Nine of his co-stars have been nominated for Oscars for performances given opposite him, and three of them have won. (To be fair, the man has a BAFTA and a Tony Award, so he's not completely lacking in awards hardware, but this, I think we can all agree, is truly getting ridiculous!!)