Woman Magazine, circa 3/99

Shakespeare in Love looks set to take Hollywood by storm this Sunday at the Oscars. So how does its star, Britain's hot young actor, Joseph Fiennes, compare with older brother Ralph? We spoke to both...

Life hasn't been quite the same for Ralph Fiennes since he was named one of the 50 Most Beautiful People In The World by People magazine. Even so, he's quietly amazed by all the fuss. "People who know me, especially my family, know how unpleasant, nasty, moody and selfish I can be", he says. It probably has something to do with his rather unusual childhood, he admits. "It was always a struggle for my parents. We had no money. I remember lots of times when it was very fraught, when my mother was distressed and my father was burdened by anxieties about work." The young Ralph used to escape by going to the cinema and he recalls a fascination with James Bond. He was particularly close to his mother. She, it seems, understood his need to isolate him from other children and immerse himself in reading or drawing. "I can remember going to nursery school and not liking being separated from her. I was very attached to my mother", he says. "She was wonderfully perceptive, helpful and wise." It was Jini who first read Hamlet to Ralph when he was eight, but she was also prone to terrible bouts of depression and violent rages, which she struggled desperately to control. When she died from breast cancer, Ralph grieved deeply. Ralph loved the arts and originally planned to become an artist, studying painting. After dropping out because "I didn't feel I could be original", he moved to RADA. No one was more surprised than him when, years later, his role as the sadistic Nazi in Schindler's List made him an international star. Most of the time, he claims, he's not too bothered about his looks. "I have days when I really don't care if I'm unwashed and sweaty. Then I can be photographed and wish I'd been a bit more vain. Sometimes the fame and hype takes its toll, but I'd say that the burdens of celebrity are pretty minimal." With such sex appeal, you'd imagine Ralph would be something of a man about town. But he's very protective about his personal life. "I want to close the door firmly on my private life and whatever partnership I'm in," he says. In other words, don't ask him anything about Francesca...

Sitting in a New York hotel room, Joseph Fiennes looks thoroughly dishevelled. His tie is askew and he has an impressive growth of stubble. Compared with his older brother - notorious among film journalists as a painfully reluctant interviewee - he's open to the point of being gushing. But ask him, for instance, on his views on romance and he's extremely guarded. "I wouldn't even tell you if I was seeing someone. I guess there's a romantic hidden in here somewhere," he smiles, holding his heart. "I hope there is, anyway." It's never easy to follow in a sibling's famous footsteps and Joseph can spot the journalistic traps a mile off. "No, Ralph and I don't discuss acting or careers when we meet," he says firmly. "It's very rare that we get together because we're so busy. When we do, we usually talk domestics. I'm doing a bit of DYI on my flat in London at the moment, so we talk about that. I had a privileged yet strange upbringing. We were surrounded by constant stimulation from my parents and their friends - actors, musicians, sculptors, whatever. It was very bohemian. We moved 14 times and it was always a challenge to reinvent yourself at school. It was a great adventure and I guess it was good preparation for acting - there's a gypsy element to living an actor's life. Along with Ralph, my childhood also gave me a love of the arts. I went from youth theatre to drama school, then out into the professional cattle market. People have said: "You came out of nowhere." But you look at most actors, including me, and I guarantee it's taken years of hard work to achieve what you have. I don't get recognised on the streets. If you go on the Tube in London with a hat on your head, it's fine. I haven't had to worry about recognition and I'd hate to. But I guess it could happen."

THE FIENNES DYNASTY

AGES:

Ralph: 36
Joseph: 28

FAMILY HISTORY:

Father Mark is a photographer.
Novelist and painter mother, Jennifer, or "Jini", died six years ago.
There are six Fiennes siblings. Along with Joseph and Ralph, there's Joseph's twin brother, Jake, wo's a gamekeeper; film director sister, Martha; Magnus, a composer and musician; and Sophie, theatrical designer. Foster brother, Mick, is an archeologist, and there's also a cousin, Sir Ranulph Twistleton-Wykeham Fiennes, wo climbs mountains and goes trekking. Their lifestyle was unconventional, moving frequently from homes in the West Country, London and Ireland.

SIGNIFICANT OTHERS:

Ralph: famously dumped his wife, ER's Alex Kingston, and is now dating 54-year-old Francesca Annis. The pair met while starring in Hamlet. Francesca played Ralph's mother.

Joseph: a six-year relationship with the actress Sara Griffiths ended a while back. Now rumoured to be seeing Catherine McCormack, the star of films such as Braveheart and Land Girls.

MAJOR FILMS:

Ralph: Schindler's List, Quiz Show, the English Patient

Joseph: Martha, Meet Frank, Daniel and Laurence, Elizabeth, Shakespeare in Love

MAJOR FLOPS:

Ralph: The Avengers
Joseph: None (as yet)

UPCOMING FILMS:

Ralph: Onegin, an adaption of Pushkin's epic poem, directed by his sister Martha and out in May

Joseph: Rancid Aluminium, about the Russian mafia and out this summer.

FIENNES VERSUS FIENNES... ALSO WORTH REMEMBERING:

JOSEPH doesn't pronounce his name in a silly way.
JOSEPH dates women nearer his own age.
RALPH is the better onscreen kisser - just look at the English Patient. When Joseph got his chops round Gwyneth Paltrow, it was as if she'd had an encounter with a soggy lettuce.
[Beate is not amused.]