Mother
His mother, Jennifer Lash, called Jini, was a painter and a novelist. She died from breast cancer on December 28, 1993 at the age of 55. Her last novel, "Blood Ties" was published posthumously by Bloomsbury in 1997 and Joe, along with his brother Ralph and sister Sophie, did readings for it in England and Ireland. They also did one in New York on July 27, 1999 to coincide with its publication in paperback, along with "On Pilgrimage."

List of her books:
The Burial
The Prism/The Climate of Belief
Get Down There And Die
The Dust Collector
From May to October
Suffolk Song Cycle and Other Poems
Blood Ties
On Pilgrimage
She also wrote a children's book "Tristram and the Power of the Lights", but it was never published and used only to read it to her children to put them to sleep.

All of the above, except the three last ones, seem to be out of print. Available through Bloomsbury, also saw them listed on www.amazon.co.uk and www.waterstones.co.uk
Suffolk Song Cycle and Other Poems is published under "Jini Fiennes" and available through amazon.co.uk
For more information about her see our Jennifer Lash page.

Between 1962 and 1970, Mark and Jini had six children, and fostered another child. Joe is the joint youngest, along with his fraternal twin Jacob (according to Mike Emery, Joe was born first!)

Siblings

"I don't know what it is that made us all find careers of expression. Maybe it has something to do with my mother and father having careers that were creative. There was never a lack of stimulus in terms of literature or painting and drawing."

"We're all close and we're all uniquely individual in our passions and pursuits. The eldest is an archaeologist and my twin is a gamekeeper, so it's a wonderful and great collection."

- Ralph Nathaniel, 41 (12/22/62);
actor; graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA), 1985; member of the National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company, 1988-1991. Plays include the title roles in "Troilus and Cressida" and "Henry VI" for the RSC, and "Hamlet" (Tony award), "Ivanov", "Richard II" and "Coriolanus" for the Almeida Theatre. He also made a guest appearance in Kenneth Brannagh's "The Play What I Wrote". He opened in "The Talking" Cure at the National Theatre in London on December 6, 2002, until February 2003. He will star in Ibsen's "Brand" for the RSC in Stratford upon Avon from 17th April 2003 to 24th May 2003, then 29th May 2003 to 30th August 2003 at Haymarket, Theatre Royal, West End. There are rumors of a Broadway transfer afterwards.
Movies include "Wuthering Heights", "Schindler's List" (Oscar nomination and BAFTA award), "Quiz Show," "Strange Days," "The English Patient" (Oscar, Golden Globe and BAFTA nomination), "Oscar and Lucinda," "The Avengers", "Onegin" (directed by Martha Fiennes), "Sunshine" (Golden Globe nominations) and "The End of the Affair" (Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations). The Silence of the Lambs prequel "Red Dragon" opened in the US and the UK in October 2002. He also starred in "Maid in Manhattan" which opened December 13, 2002 with Jennifer Lopez. David Cronenberg's "Spider" will open in limited release in NY & LA for Academy Award consideration on Dec. 20, and will open wide in the rest of the country in February 2003. After his theatrical run, rumor has it that he will team up with David Cronenberg once again in "Painkillers".
His partner of several years is actress Francesca Annis, who is currently performing at the Donmar Warehouse in "The Vortex" until February 2003.

- Martha Maria, 39,
award winning commercials and music video director, and director of the film "Onegin." Married to writer George Tiffin, three children (Titan and Hero, the third born in October 2001).

- Magnus Hubert, 39,
musician, composer and producer; has worked with All Saints, Morcheeba, Pulp, Neneh Cherry, Spice Girls and Gary Moore. Wrote the scores for the film "Preaching to the Perverted," BBC TV's The Works program on"Blood Ties" and for the films "Onegin" and "Soup." Married to musician (concert pianist) and composer Maya Dokic (co-writer of the scores for "Blood Ties" and "Onegin"); two children (Cheyenne and Shanti).

- Sophia ("Sophie") Victoria, 37,
film producer and director, and an art director for photographic shoots; served as second assistant director on the Peter Greenaway film "Prospero's Books" and as art director for Greenaway's "The Cook, the Thief, his Wife and her Lover" ; director of the short film "Lars From 1-10"; and associate producer on the films "Crush Proof" and "Onegin." Her current projects include two feature documentaries: "Hoover Street Revival" and "Because I Sing".

- Jacob Mark ("Jake"), 33 (5/27/70; Joe's fraternal twin),
gamekeeper at the estate of Sir Nicholas Bacon, in Raveningham, Norfolk, England. Lives in a cottage on the estate with his wife, Mel (a veterinary technician), new baby daughter (born in March 2001), and his two black Labradors, Flora and Tosca.
For more info on him click here

Joe's grandfather Maurice Fiennes was involved in the Sheffield steel industry and so his father lived in the area in his youth during the 1940s.

For more info on Joe's third cousin, once removed, Sir Ranulph Fiennes, the world's greatest living explorer, click here

Joe also happens to be the eighth cousin to the Prince of Wales.

Childhood
Joe had a chaotic and creative childhood, the family moved around 15 times around rural England (the West Coast), Ireland and London. From 1974 to 1978 they lived on the southwest coast of Cork, Ireland, in Kilkenny and Bantry Bay. Sometimes Jini taught the children herself.

"Art and acting hold hands together. They are both about looking and learning. I never made the change. I just grew and moved on."

Lowestoft School of Art, Suffolk, 1987
Young Vic Youth Theatre, London, 1988 - '89
Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London, 1990 - '93
(one fellow student was Ewan McGregor)

"The need to survive was more important that the academic side, as was the challenge to reinvent myself from school to school. It felt odd because we were always moving and I never knew what the syllabus was. I know a lot of people who were unhappy at school and they'd probably only been to 2 schools in their whole life. But I relished our life and it was probably good preparation, I'm sure for acting which has a gypsy element to it."

- "Breakthrough Performer" - Shakespeare in Love and Elizabeth, Broadcast Film Critics Association, 1999
- "Most Promising Actor," Chicago Film Critics Association, 1999
- "Favorite Male Newcomer", Blockbuster Entertainment Awards, 1999
- "Outstanding Performance by a Cast" - Shakespeare in Love, Screen Actors Guild Awards
- "Best Kiss" - Shakespeare in Love, MTV Movie Awards, 1999 ;-)
- "Best Actor" - Elle Style Awards, 1999

Ken McReddie Ltd.
91 Regent Street
London W1R 7TB
England

He's also repped by the Creative Artists Agency (US) and by attorney Barry Hirsh (US).
He is managed by Gene Parseghian/Planco.

"Le Grand Meaulnes" (Augustus)/"The Threepenny Opera" (Tiger Brown)/"West Side Story" (Bernardo)/ "Jude the Obscure (Jude)," Young Vic Youth Theatre, 1988-89

"Macbeth" (Macbeth)/"Electra" (Pylades)/"The League of Youth"/"Once in a Lifetime" (Rudolf Kammerling), Guildhall School of Music and Drama, 1990-93

"The Woman in Black", written by Susan Hill for Duncan Weldon Productions
Joseph Fiennes, Edward Petherbridge
Fortune Theatre, 1993 (Joe's West End Debut)

"A Month in the Country"
Joseph Fiennes (Belayev), Helen Mirren, John Hurt.
Written by Ivan Turgenev. Directed by Bill Bryden.
Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford/Surrey, February 21 - March 5, 1994; Richmond Theatre, Richmond, March 7 - 19, 1994; Albery Theatre, London, April/May 1994

"A View from the Bridge"
Joseph Fiennes (Rodolpho)
Written by Arthur Miller. Directed by David Thacker.
Bristol, Old Vic Theatre; Birmingham Repertory Theatre, March 8 - April 4,1995; and 10 weeks at the Strand Theatre, London (West End), beginning April 5, 1995.

"Son of Man"
Joseph Fiennes (Jesus Christ).
Written by Dennis Potter.
Directed by Bill Bryden for the Royal Shakespeare Company
Barbican Pit, London, October 17, 1995 - January 13, 1996

"Les Enfants du Paradis"
Joseph Fiennes (Lacenaire).
Written by Jacques Prevert.
Directed by Simon Callow (Mr. Tilney in SiL) for the Royal Shakespeare Company. Barbican Theatre, London, January 30, 1996.

"As You Like It"
Joseph Fiennes (Silvius).
Written by William Shakespeare. Directed by Stephen Pimlott.
Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford on Avon, April 18, 1996 - October 5, 1996; Barbican Pit, October 18, 1996 - March 29, 1997

"The Herbal Bed"
Joseph Fiennes (Rafe Smith), Teresa Banham (Susanna).
Written by Peter Whelan for the RSC. The Other Place, Stratford on Avon, beginning May 8, 1996; Barbican Pit, October 30, 1996 - January 16, 1997
Also performed for a few days under the direction of Michael Attenborough at the Theatre Royal, Ustinov Studio, in Bath, England, March 9 - 14, 1998. Won Peter Whelan the Lloyds Private Banking Playwright of the Year award, 1997.

"Troilus and Cressida"
Joseph Fiennes (Troilus).
Written by William Shakespeare. Directed by Ian Judge. Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford on Avon, July 18, 1996 - October 4, 1996; Barbican Pit, November 28, 1996 - March 25, 1997.

"Real Classy Affair"
Joseph Fiennes (Billy), Jason Hughes (Tommy), Callum Dixon (Harry), Jake Wood (Joey), Nick Moran (Stan), Liza Walker (Louise)
Written by Nick Grosso. Directed by James MacDonald.
Royal Court Theatre Upstairs, London; October 14 to November 14, 1998.

"Edward II"
Written by Christopher Marlowe, Directed by Michael Grandage
Joseph Fiennes (Edward II)
The Crucible Theatre, Sheffield; March 8 to March 31, 2001

"War Poets Reading"
Joseph Fiennes and Friends (Tom Hollander, Adrian Mitchell, Fiona Shaw, Harriet Walter)
Wednesday 12th December 2001, The Apollo Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue
An anthology of war poetry by writers and soldiers including Homer, Shakespeare, Robert Graves, Wilfred Owen, Walt Whitman, Dylan Thomas, John Betjeman, Ho Thien, Joseph Brodsky, Christopher Logue, Yevgeny Yevtushenko and a specially commissioned poem by Owen Sheers.
Here and here are links to the War Poets reading online. Joe's on around 43 minutes into the programme.

"Love's Labour's Lost"
Written by William Shakespeare, Directed by Trevor Nunn
Joseph Fiennes (Berowne)
The Royal National Theatre, the Olivier, London; February 15 to March 18, 2003

"Up Against It" by Joe Orton (Christopher Low)
Playwright Joe Orton was reportedly commissioned by the Beatles management to write a play for the group, but the resulting project, "Up Against It," was shelved due to the "unsavory content" and foul language.
Broadcast on BBC Radio 3, Sunday, 21 September 1997, 7.30pm - 9.00pm (to mark the 30th anniversary of Orton's passing).
Joe Orton's unfinished screenplay, written for the Beatles in 1967 and adapted for radio by John Fletcher. Orton was found dead on the very day he was to meet director Richard Lester about the making of the film. In this first production of the play, 30 years on, Blur's Damon Albarn provides a musical link to the original Beatles casting. Also starring Leo McKern, Sylvia Syms, Prunella Scales, Douglas Hodge, Joe Fiennes, Louise Lombard and Jacinta Mulcahy. John Gielgud and Irish director Joe Dowling make cameo appearances. Director John Adams.
Not available for purchase that we know of.

"Romeo & Juliet": Arkangel Complete Shakespeare"
(U.K./U.S., Viking/Penguin, June 1998) by William Shakespeare;
2 audio cassettes (3 hours - unabridged)
Joseph Fiennes (Romeo), Maria Miles (Juliet), Elizabeth Spriggs (Nurse), Clive Swift (Friar Laurence), Trevor Peacock (Capulet) David Tennant (Mercutio), Jonathan Tafler (Tybalt)

"Villette" (UK, BBC, April 1999)
An adaptation of the Charlotte Bronte novel by James Friel
Joseph Fiennes (Dr. Graham Bretton), Catherine McCormack (Lucy Snowe), Harriet Walter (Madame Beck), James Laurenson (Paul Emmanuel).

"Dianeira" (UK, BBC, November 1999)
Aired November 28, 1999 on Radio BBC 3 (105 mins.)
A play by Timberlake Wertenbaker
Joseph Fiennes (Helos), Harriet Walter (Dianeira), Alan Howard (Heracles), Simon Callow (Nessos)
Music by Stephen Warbeck
A tragic story about the famous Greek hero Heracles, his wife Dianeira and the anger which destroyed their lives as well as the ones of their children.

"Teacher's Tale" (UK, BBC Radio 4)
A tale written by Glyn Maxwell
Aired on 25 October 2000 as part of the "Chaucer 2000 Tales"
Joe tells the story of a class being disturbed by the arrival of a devilish supply teacher who forces the children to confess to a crime that they did not commmit. Humiliated and frightened, they attempt to rise up against her.
Read the transcript here

"Lord Byron's Women" (UK, BBC Radio 4)
Monday June 4 - Friday June 15, 2001
10.45pm(FM) and 7.45pm R4
Directed by Clive Brill
In a ten part series, using diaries, journals letters and poetry, Robin Brooks captures a gripping snapshot of the turbulent and passionate relationships in which Lord Byron was embroiled.

"Everyone for Themselves" (UK, BBC Radio 3)
Sunday December 9, 2001, 7.35pm
Joseph Fiennes stars as Timothy McVeigh with Lorraine Ashbourne, John Guerrasio and Stuart Milligan among the cast. In this play, Fletcher sets out to demonstrate how, in our society now, language is used by the wealthy and powerful, with devastating effects, to hem in and smother original thought and action. In a purely materialist society where life is the only imperative, people are no longer prepared to die for democracy. Instead we fight wars using huge technological armadas against peasant populations who still have spiritual values, are prepared to die, but are armed only with Kalashnikovs. This, Fletcher argues, is the future division of the world. The play is based on two true incidents. The former existence of a 'debating society' at the United States maximum security prison at Florence, Colorado, consisting of Timothy McVeigh, the Oklahoma Bomber, Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber, Ramzi Yousef, the first bomber of the World Trade Centre, and Luis Felipe, America's leading gangster; and the existence at Rostov-on-Don of a Red Army laboratory where the Army attempts to identify the remains of soldiers killed in recent battles and return them to their relatives.

"When Love Speaks" (UK, RADA, February 2002)
A selection of Shakespeare's lyrics (mostly sonnets), composed and produced by Michael Kamen. Joseph reads two excerpts from The Tempest. Other readers and singers include Ralph Fiennes, Alan Rickman, John Gielgud, Richard Attenborough, Kenneth Brannagh, Fiona Shaw, John Hurt, Bryan Ferry, Annie Lennox and Rufus Wainwright.

"Celebrity Bedtime Stories" (Puffin Audiobooks, 2002)
8 children stories read by English celebrities. Joe reads "The Emperor's New Clothes" by Hans Christian Andersen
It's a charity tape and all profits will go to the NSPCC. The NSPCC's Full Stop Campaign aims to end cruelty to children. On the cover of the tape is a donations hotline number: 0800 73 111 37. It is published by the Penguin Group, running time is 80 mins.
For UK listers who want to get it for themselves or friends:
Puffin Audio Celebrity Bedtime Story tape NSPCC Full Stop campaign.
£4.99 including packaging and postage
To get it phone: 01634 226206 (they accept credit cards)
or write to
Bedtime Stories Tape
PO Box 300
Rochester
Kent ME2 2HJ
enclosing postal order or cheque

"The Charge of the Light Brigade" (UK, BBC Radio 4)
Thursday 13 June, 2002, 2.15pm to 3.45pm
A Star studded radio production of John Osborne's original screenplay, completed but ultimately not used for the classic movie of 1968. It takes a revisionist view of the military and political blundering that surrounded the British involvement in the Crimean War, culminating in the Battle of Balaklava, in 1854. Directed by Bill Bryden, with Michael Feast (John Osborne), Charles Dance (Lord Cardigan), Jasper Britton (Morris), Joseph Fiennes (Captain Nolan), Angela Douglas (Lady Errol) and Donald Sinden (Lord Lucan).
There will be a one-time opportunity to see Joe in "Charge of the Light Brigade" on stage as well:
On Sunday, 16 June 2002, there is the unique opportunity to see a live charity performance of a recently discovered screenplay on the Charge of the Light Brigade, written in the early 1960s by John Osborne (best known for his play Look Back in Anger).
Directed by Bill Bryden and starring Alec McCowen (Raglan), Charles Dance (Cardigan), Sir Donald Sinden (Lucan) and Joseph Fiennes (Captain Nolan), it takes place at the Honourable Artillery Company in London.
With tickets each costing £125, this may be for aficionados only, but the price does include a champagne reception and buffet supper, and all proceeds go to the Royal Theatrical Fund.
To book tickets, contact Wendy Marshall at Seriously Bright Ltd, tel: 020 7494 2677.
Read more about the background and about Captain Nolan here and here.
The poem by Lord Alfred Tennyson is posted here.

"The Vacillations of Poppy Carew" (U.K., LWT, 1995)
Joseph Fiennes (Willy), Tara Fitzgerald (Poppy), Daniel Massey (Mr. Carew), Samuel West (Victor), Edward Atterton (Fergus), Owen Teale (Edmund), Charlotte Coleman (Mary), Helena Michell (Penelope). Directed by James Cellan Jones for Bentley Productions. Based on a novel by Mary Wesley.
A boy and his blanket - that's all you need to know ;-)

"Beowulf" (U.K., Christmas Films and Right Angle, 1998, 25 mins.)
Joseph Fiennes (voice of Beowulf), Derek Jacobi (Narrator), Timothy West (Hrothgar), Anna Marshall (Queen Wealtheow)
Derek Jacobi narrates an animated version of the 8th-century hearthside tale of the young hero Beowulf (Fiennes), whose journey to help his father's old friend Hrothgar (West) brings him into conflict with the terrifying swamp monster Grendel and Grendel's mother, and a fearsome treasure-hoarding dragon.
Produced by Christmas Films (Moscow) and Right Angle (Cardiff), in association with BBC Wales and HBO. Broadcast in the U.K. on BBC2 television December 23, 1998. May show up in the U.S. eventually on HBO cable (the animated Canterbury Tales from the same production company was on HBO in May '99).

"Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas" Dreamworks animated film.
Joseph Fiennes (voice of Proteus), Christine Baranski (Eris), Brad Pitt (Sinbad), Catherine Zeta-Jones (Margiana), Michelle Pfeiffer
The film is being made by Steven Spielberg's company DreamWorks. It will be produced by Jeffrey Katzenberg, who was also one of the producers of Shrek, and is expected to be released on 23 May, 2003. "It's sort of taking the classic Sinbad tales and putting it together in a really big adventure," Katzenberg says.

"Martha, Meet Frank, Daniel and Laurence", 1998, directed by Nick Ham (Laurence), Channel 4 Films, retitled in the US as "The Very Thought of You", Miramax 1999

"Elizabeth", 1998, directed by Shekhar Kapur (Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester) UK, Gramercy,

"Shakespeare in Love", 1998, directed by John Madden (William Shakespeare), UK/US, Miramax

"Rancid Aluminium", 1999, directed by Ed Thomas (Sean Deeny), UK, Entertainment Film Distributors

"Forever Mine" 1999, directed by Paul Schrader (Alan Ripley/Manuel Esquema)
US, J&M Entertainment, was shown at the STARZ cable channel in the US in November 2000

"Enemy at the Gates", 2000, directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud (Danilov,)
about the WWII Battle of Stalingrad, filming began January 17, 2000 in the Potsdam Babelsberg Studios and in the little town of Fahrland in Potsdam/Germany, was released in the US and UK on 16 March 2001, in Germany on 15 March.

"Dust", 2000, directed by Milcho Manchevski (Elijah),
a Macedonian Western, shooting started Tuesday, April 4, 2000 in New York for two weeks and were followed by location filming in Stavitza, Macedonia and a studio shoot in Cologne, Germany, in late July 2000, with post-production in London. Dust was the opening film at the Venice Film Festival end of August 2001. Release date for Italy is April 5, 2002, for UK May 3, 2002.

"Killing Me Softly", 2000, directed by Chen Kaige (Adam Tallis)
The first English-language picture from Chinese director Chen Kaige ("Farewell My Concubine").
The erotic thriller, based on the novel by Nicci French, spins the tale of a London research scientist (Heather Graham) who opts out of her comfortable but ordinary relationship with her boyfriend and into a dangerously obsessive bond with a handsome and mysterious mountaineer.
"Killing" started shooting in London on Oct. 30, 2000. MGM paid about $10 million for North American distribution rights on the $25 million picture. It's been released meanwhile in Japan and Italy and the release date for the Netherlands is 30 May, 2002, for UK 14 June, 2002.

"Leo", 2002, directed by Mehdi Norowzian
Joseph Fiennes, Elizabeth Shue, Sam Shepard and Justin Chambers star in the independent feature "Leo". The film which is set in the American south, marks the directorial debut of Mehdi Norowzian, who was Oscar nominated last year for his short film Killing Joe. "Leo" has two separate stories that end up converging. Shue plays an unfaithful mother who suspects her husband is having an affair and denies her son, a product of her own infidelity, warmth and love. Justin Chambers plays a painter whose affair with Shue takes a dark turn as age and alcoholism consume him. Fiennes plays a brilliant writer who is released after 15 years in prison. Rather than being about James Joyce's famous literary creation the story centres on the efforts of three adults to save a little boy from tradgedy. Shooting on the film has begun on February 2, 2002 in Los Angeles and went on to Charleston for a 30 day schedule. Release date for the UK is 12th March, 2004.

"Martin Luther", 2002
Luther is the story of a simple monk challenging the political and religious leadership of his time. It will also feature Peter Ustinov (Elector Friedrich the Wise), Bruno Ganz (Johann von Staupitz), Uwe Ochsenknecht (Pope Leo X), Mathieu Carrière (Cardinal Cajetan), Alfred Molina (Johann Tetzel) and Claire Cox (Katharina von Bora). It's directed by Eric Till. The film focuses on Luther's private life. Luther was produced by NFP Neue Filmproduktion in association with the US partner Aid Association for Lutherans, and the ARD network’s Degeto Film, with additional financing from the Federal German Film Board (FFA), Mitteldeutsche Medienfoerderung MDM and Filmboard Berlin-Brandenburg. It's scheduled to be released in Germany and USA in October 2003. Still has no release date for the UK.

"The Merchant of Venice"
Al Pacino is set to star alongside Sir Ian McKellen in a film version of The Merchant of Venice. Pacino will play Shylock in the $30 million movie, while Sir Ian will take the part of Antonio. Shakespeare In Love star Joseph Fiennes is tipped for the romantic lead of Bassanio and Cate Blanchett as the heroine Portia. The film will be directed by Michael Radford, the British director whose previous credits include Il Postino and White Mischief. The British-Italian film will start shooting in Venice in September 2003. The Merchant of Venice will be a 16th century period adaptation in a "stylised fashion", according to producer Cary Brokaw. "Shakespeare's story of conflict and religious persecution has a tremendous contemporary resonance," he said. Pacino, 63, has previously played Richard III on stage and made it the subject of a documentary film, Looking For Richard.

"The Great Raid"
Bribie Island, about an hour's drive north of Brisbane, was invaded by an army of Hollywood actors, extras and crew last week for filming of The Great Raid. It stars Benjamin Bratt (former boyfriend of Julia Roberts), Joseph Fiennes and Australian actor Craig McLachlan. Bratt is best known for his role in the TV drama Law And Order, and he starred in Miss Congeniality alongside Sandra Bullock. This is McLachlan's first role in a major American film. Other Australians involved include Robert Mammone, Sam Worthington, James Franco and Natalie Mendoza. The Great Raid centres on the true story of American prisoners of war who had been captured by Japanese forces in the Philippines during World War II. More than 500 soldiers were rescued from the Japanese camp in a mission lead by Colonel Mucci, played in the film by Bratt. In his bid to recreate the harrowing war story, director John Dahl has converted the sand dunes at Bribie Island into a prison camp, with warplanes flying overhead. The production has been backed by American film giants Miramax and Village Roadshow. More than 550 Queenslanders scored roles as prisoners of war in the film after an advertisement for "skinny people" was published in local newspapers. The Great Raid will be shot in Queensland for the next three months, before filming moves to Shanghai. The location will move to Pimpama near the Gold Coast next week for scenes involving the PoW camp, with shooting extending through to October. Dozens of local extras have been cast in non-speaking roles as prisoners of the Japanese. The movie is due for release in 2003.

"Man to Man"
An epic film about to be shot in Scotland will star a pair of big-screen giants. But Joseph Fiennes, Kristin Scott Thomas and Ian Glen could find themselves upstaged by a couple of pygmies. The tribesmen will play opposite the movie stars in Man to Man, costing Pounds 10 million to film in South Africa, Edinburgh and at various stately homes in the Borders. In the film, Fiennes plays a 19th-century anthropologist who captures the pygmies in the Congo and brings them back to his Scottish estate to study them in the belief they may be the 'missing link' in human evolution. While others are convinced they are little more than animals, he realises they are just as human as anyone else and develops a particularly close relationship with the female. The film, which starts shooting in South Africa this month, will later relocate to Scotland for seven weeks of filming in Edinburgh and at Duns Castle, Manderston House and Sir Walter Scott's former home, Abbotsford in the Borders.

"The Stars Look Down"
Despite his grumbles about "Four Eyes," (Bill) Bryden has forged a visionary professional partnership with (Lee) Hall. After the box-office success of Billy Elliot, Hall is on a roll. His next screenplay for Miramax will be an adaptation of the Dunbartonshire-born AJ Cronin's novel, The Stars Look Down, the story of an idealistic miner's son, who goes to university to study medicine, but temporarily forgets his political resolve when he marries. Bryden will direct. Carol Reed’s 1939 movie version - there have been several television adaptations - ends with a rousing call for nationalisation of the mining industry, "to purge the old greeds". Bryden says he and Hall are determined to film the book, the rights of which are now being negotiated. "This is an exclusive for The Scotsman, by the way," he confides. It was Hall's seemingly effortless ability to mix humour and pathos, to tell sad and funny stories of personal struggle with unflinching honesty and a pervasive tenderness, that won Bryden over. Joseph Fiennes (who Bryden will also be directing later this year in the West End), will play the young doctor. Tara Fitzgerald will play his wife.

"The Duchess of Malfi"
Ananova.com reports that Joseph Fiennes could re-unite with Gwyneth Paltrow in a new British-backed production of The Duchess of Malfi. The drama is based on John Webster's 17th-century classic. It is being made by the London-based Artists Independent Network. The story focuses on a plot forged between the evil Duke of Calabria and his corrupt Cardinal brother to prevent their beautiful young widowed sister from re-marrying. A senior source told Ananova: "Gwyneth loved working in Britain on Shakespeare In Love and Sliding Doors. "She thinks of the place as her second home. She only has fond memories of Joe and would love to work with him again." The film, which will be made on location in England and Spain, is not due to go into production until spring 2003.

"Edgardo Mortara"
Joseph Fiennes is being tipped to play a father in search of his young son in the new period thriller Edgardo Mortara. Set in the 19th century, the drama focuses on a young Jewish boy who is kidnapped by the Catholic church. The film follows his father's desperate attempts to snatch him back from the Vatican. Writer Jeremy Brock, who originally created the TV series Casualty, has written the screenplay. Fiennes was top of our shopping list, a source close to the production told Ananova.

"Heaven and Hell"
The Italian director Bernardo Bertolucci (Stealing Beauty) wants to make a film based on the life of 16th-century artist Gesualdo da Venosa later this year, and he wants Joseph Fiennes to play the lead role of da Venosa. Emily Watson and Joely Richardson are hoped to play the rivals for the charismatic artist's love. Jim Broadbent and Ian Richardson are also being pencilled in for support parts in the biopic. Production of the £20 million feature is being plotted for the autumn. The director's regular collaborator Mark Peploe is putting the finishing touches to the script from a biography by Giovanni Iudica.