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Joseph Fiennes

After leaving art school, he worked with the Young Vic Youth Theatre. He continued his training at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. His first professional stage appearance was in the West End in The Woman in Black, followed by A Month in the Country opposite Helen Mirren. Fiennes then became a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company for two seasons.

He made his television debut as Willy in The Vacillations of Poppy Carew. His first feature film was 1996's Stealing Beauty, co-starring Liv Tyler. In 1998, Fiennes appeared in two films that were nominated at the Academy Awards: he played Robert Dudley opposite Cate Blanchett in Elizabeth and he portrayed William Shakespeare opposite Gwyneth Paltrow in his most popular film to date Shakespeare in Love, which won the award for Best Picture. Following the success of Shakespeare in Love, Fiennes turned down a 5 picture deal from a major studio and withdrew from mainstream cinema. Instead he chose to return to the theatre. He remains highly selective of his work and has famously turned down major film productions in order to appear on stage.

Fiennes has also worked in other media. In 2003 he lent his voice as Proteus in the DreamWorks animated film Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas opposite Brad Pitt. The same year he starred in the limited-release film Luther, playing Martin Luther, and he also appeared in The Merchant of Venice, in which he portrayed Bassanio.

In 2006, he appeared in The Darwin Awards opposite Winona Ryder, and in Running with Scissors, once again teaming him up with Gwyneth Paltrow. Fiennes will return to the theatre again this year[when?] in the one-man play Unicorns, Almost about World War II poet Keith Douglas at the Old Vic .

In Spring 2006, he filmed Goodbye Bafana with director Bille August in South Africa. The film was released in 2007. Fiennes portrayed James Gregory, author of the book Goodbye Bafana: Nelson Mandela, My Prisoner, My Friend.

He was offered a role in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, but turned it down.

Beginning in the fall of 2009, he will be starring in the ABC series Flash Forward.