Australian New Weekly
August 6, 2001
Small Talk section, no noted writer

You won't find a more reluctant movie star than Joesph Fiennes. The star of Oscar-winning movies Shakespeare in Love and Elizabeth literally ran away from Hollywood just as he was making his mark. "There was so much hype on me at the time that I felt I had to withdraw. I really did shrink away," he says. "I didn't want to get caught out with the need to follow up these movies or to capitalise on the hype, so I decided to do a small play in Lodnon instead. I needed to find my voice.

"Starring in 2 huge movies was both strange and wonderful. I found out that I'm just not interested in selling myself. After Shakespeare in Love popped and I exploded, I had to readjust my life and my whole way of thinking", he says, almost apologetically.

Joseph, 31, doesn't believe in endless media interviews. "Just because an actor has a couple of films in the bag, they think they can talk about politics, sex or whatever. I don't want to bore anyone with my views, and I prefer to talk as little as possible about myself."

He's currently starring opposite Jude Law in the thriller Enemy at the Gates, a love story woven into the brutal battle of Stalingrad, with both characters falling in love with the same woman, played by Rachel Weisz. "I liked that I wasn't playing another romantic lead. I enjoyed the ugliness and the beauty of the character."

It's not surprising that Fiennes won't talk about his private life, but he is reportedly in a relationship with a make-up artist named Fiona, with whom he has allegedly bought a four storey property in Notting Hill, West London.

He has been romantically linked to a diverse range of women, including Naomi Campbell, Catherine McCormack, some say Gwyneth Paltrow, and British actress Sara Griffiths. "If you ask me a personal question, I will probably try and skirt around anything too direct", he smiles slowly.

In his spare time, Fiennes practises yoga and travels to exotic locations. "I love being able to stumble across a world outside of my own", he explains. But isn't that why people act? "Possibly, but I don't have a very strong drive. It's a small world we live in, and we're not here for very long. I want to meet people from other worlds and experience as much about life as I can."