Photograph by Jennifer Cooper

Ralph Fiennes
Justin Quayle, The Constant Gardener
Age: 43
Birthplace: Suffolk, England
Essential filmography: Wuthering Heights (1992), Schindler’s List (1993), The English Patient (1996), Sunshine (1999), The End of the Affair (1999), Spider (2002), Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005), The White Countess (2005)

PREMIERE: Describe your character in this movie.
He has a code. He’s like a lot of decent Englishmen I know. They have a set of principles, but they don’t carry them waving around. In fact, they sort of laugh at them. Actually, they have an absolutely certain moral center.

How is he different from Todd Jackson, your character in The White Countess, who is also a diplomat?
Jackson had quite a lot of influence. In our story, he’s been instrumental in trying to create some kind of peace in China. Justin is a nice guy, okay, but not a career diplomat. He’s not going to go in any high places.

Who are your idols?
Paul Scofield onstage in Amadeus gave me goose bumps. Trevor Howard in his early films. James Mason was great. The great American actors like Hackman, Duvall, Pacino, De Niro. Peter O’Toole in one scene in Troy. That’s a level of great acting—it’s just some force, some great, great thing that happens that turns a rather indifferent film on its head for five minutes.

Best bit of acting advice?
When I was starting out, a wonderful older actor gave me a quote from the playwright James Bridie. He had quite strong words about if you only go for money, ease, or position, then you should be thrown into the flames, basically. Of course, I don’t think there’s anything wrong in receiving a nice paycheck. That shouldn’t be a judgment on anyone. But if you’re only motivated in that direction, you get led away. The theater is quite grounding. You can’t cheat an audience. You can’t cut away. You can’t have another close-up.