He loves early American Jazz, he loves to travel, he loves strawberry-mango-kiwi juice, he loves theatre, he loves a good Scotch, he loves the Chelsea Soccer Club, he loves books, he can dance and likes to swim (which you can see from his well-shaped arms).

This British dream of a man manages to melt women's hearts without uttering a word. One look into his beautiful eyes, and you immediately imagine the passionate lover which he so often embodies in his films. He looks as attractive in jeans as he looks in suit and tie and not even those Elizabethan tights can disfigure his beauty. Is such an attractive man able to show more than just his good looks? Oh yes, he can! You could convince yourself of it in "Elizabeth" and "Shakespeare in Love". There are certainly three facts playing a major role: his family, his education and, above all, his talent.

Joseph is, together with his twin Jake, the youngest of the Fiennes Family. Inspired by his parents, Jini (an author, known as Jennifer Lash) and Mark (a photographer), almost all six children found their places within the arts. Brother Ralph Fiennes is an actor, sister Martha a director, Sophie a film producer and Magnus a composer. Jake followed his love of nature and became a gamekeeper in Norfolk. Let's not forget about foster brother Mike who dedicates himself to archaeology.

Joseph discovered his love of the theatre during primary school. At a performance of Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" in 1979, he landed the role of Joseph, but wasn't allowed to sing the songs: "I wasn't allowed to sing - I had to do lots of coat acting instead." But that soon changed. After a year at the Art College in Suffolk, he was accepted at the Young Vic Youth Theatre in London and completed his stage training from 1990 to 1993 at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Two years later he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company and during this time laid the foundations of his TV and screen career.

And it developed great! After a role as a farmer in the TV movie "The Vacillations of Poppy Carew" (1995) he was able to catch a small role in Bernardo Bertolucci's "Stealing Beauty" a year later. The leading role was not to be long in coming. In the comedy "Martha - Meet Frank, Daniel and Laurence" Joseph Fiennes played the young lover for the first time, in 1998. Being previously known only in Great Britain, international fame was waiting for him.

In the same year he was seen in two Oscar-awarded Elizabethan costume films, "Elizabeth" and "Shakespeare in Love." In "Elizabeth" he still had only a supporting role and impressed us with his good looks. But along with Gwyneth Paltrow in "Shakespeare in Love" he was the absolute ideal candidate for the young passionate poet! Although the expressive Brit is fine-looking in costumes; he is finally allowed to dress in contemporary clothes for his next projects, "Forever Mine", "Rancid Aluminium" and "Enemy at the Gates".

Despite his growing (female) legion of fans, Joseph Fiennes tries to avoid the media hype as much as he can. He is not happy with seeing his name in the limelight. He prefers being on stage with a troupe of players to making a career in Hollywood. So you are more likely to meet the former Marks&Spencer model at a fashion show than a film premiere. This modesty might be the reason why he is still such a polite, likeable and reserved person. You simply have to love this Shakespeare!

Filmography (Selection):

1998 Elizabeth
1998 Shakespeare in Love
1996 Stealing Beauty

Awards:

1999 Blockbuster Entertainment Award for "Shakespeare in Love" (1998)
1999 BFCA Award for "Shakespeare in Love" (1998)
1999 BFCA Award for "Elizabeth" (1998)
1999 CFCA Award for "Shakespeare in Love" (1998)
1999 MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss in "Shakespeare in Love" (1998)
1999 SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in "Shakespeare in Love" (1998)