---
name: "Joseph Fiennes"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/joseph-fiennes"
fi1m_id: "joseph-fiennes"
imdb_id: "nm0001212"
tmdb_id: 12763
wikidata_id: "Q223790"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "27 May 1970"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 3
average_fi1m_score: 80
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 3
updated: "2026-09-24T07:38:03.658513+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Joseph Fiennes

## Identity

Joseph Fiennes

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/joseph-fiennes
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** joseph-fiennes
- **IMDb ID:** nm0001212
- **TMDB ID:** 12763
- **Wikidata ID:** Q223790
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Fiennes, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q223790, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001212/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/12763

Actor. Born 27 May 1970 in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England, UK.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 27 May 1970, Salisbury, Wiltshire, England, UK
- **Active:** 1998–present
- **Also known as:** ג'וזף פיינס, Джозеф Файннс, Джозеф Файннз, جوزف فاینز
- **Frequently works with:** [Geoffrey Rush](https://film.one/person/geoffrey-rush.md)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 80, as actor, over 3 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1990s 80 (2), 2020s 80 (1)
- **Score spread:** 2 at 80+, 1 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Lead roles:** 3 of 3 acting credits billed first or second
- **Genres:** Drama 3, History 2, Comedy 1, Romance 1, Sport 1
- **Screen time:** 4 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $371m across 2 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Fiennes, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q223790, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001212/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/12763

## Streaming the US now

- **Apple TV:** [*Shakespeare in Love*](https://film.one/film/shakespeare-in-love.md) (79)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on Joseph Fiennes

> We value Joseph Fiennes for the precision he brings to men in charge. His Southgate in *Dear England* makes care for other people a convincing part of leadership, without making the man bland.

As Gareth Southgate in *Dear England* (2026), Joseph Fiennes holds back. The performance is precise enough to satisfy recognition, but he gives us more to consider than how closely he resembles a familiar football manager. He makes Southgate’s decency feel like part of the manager’s work, giving us a reason to take it seriously. We were moved by his Southgate because the care he takes with other people makes his authority believable. The role could easily have settled for reassuring us that its subject was a nice man.

His breakthrough roles were in *Shakespeare in Love* (1998) and *Elizabeth* (1998), playing Will Shakespeare and Robert Dudley respectively. The witty, romantic lead in the former is a useful reminder that solemnity need not be his default setting. His work subsequently moved between historical features, voice roles and television. *Enemy at the Gates* (2001) cast him as Commissar Danilov, while *The Handmaid’s Tale* (2017–21) gave him the regime enforcer Commander Fred Waterford. Those two parts suggest why authority has become a useful subject for him: there is plenty to consider in how a man behaves when other people must obey him.

For Southgate, the writer James Graham gives that subject a warmer treatment. Fiennes first played him on stage in *Dear England* (2023), before returning for the television adaptation directed by Rupert Goold and Paul Whittington. Graham’s concerns with masculinity, shame and honest conversation suit an actor willing to keep his performance restrained. The danger is that such a decent man becomes bland, but Fiennes is too precise for that here. His performance keeps Graham’s questions about leadership attached to a person we can believe in.

We are less persuaded when *Dear England* asks its football team to explain English identity. A convincing Southgate cannot, by himself, make those larger claims convincing. That is a limit of the writing rather than a failure of the performance, and it need not spoil the pleasure of watching Fiennes work. Start here for the actor, with some caution about how much of the country the drama hopes to account for. — Fi1m

## Biography

Joseph Fiennes is an English actor. He was born on 27 May 1970 in Salisbury, Wiltshire, and trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, graduating in 1993. He began his professional career on stage, including two seasons with the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Fiennes is known for his film roles as William Shakespeare in *Shakespeare in Love* (1998), Robert Dudley in *Elizabeth* (1998), and Commisar Danilov in *Enemy at the Gates* (2001). On television he has played Fred Waterford in *The Handmaid's Tale* (2017–2021) and Monsignor Timothy Howard in *American Horror Story* (2012–2013). He originated the role of Gareth Southgate in the 2023 stage play *Dear England* by James Graham and reprised it for the 2026 BBC series adaptation.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, radiotimes.com, bbc.com.*

## On Fi1m (3)

- *Dear England* (2026), Fi1m 80, as Gareth Southgate — [page](https://film.one/tv/dear-england.md)
- *Elizabeth* (1998), Fi1m 82, as Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester — [page](https://film.one/film/elizabeth.md)
- *Shakespeare in Love* (1998), Fi1m 79, as Will Shakespeare — [page](https://film.one/film/shakespeare-in-love.md)

## Complete filmography (45)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Dear England* (2026), series, as Gareth Southgate — Fi1m 80, [page](https://film.one/tv/dear-england.md)
- *Young Sherlock* (2026), series, as Silas Holmes
- *Prisoner 951* (2025), series, as Richard Ratcliffe
- *National Theatre Live: Dear England* (2024), as Gareth Southgate
- *The Mother* (2023), as Adrian
- *Sherwood* (2019), series, as Sheriff Nottingham
- *The Handmaid's Tale* (2017), series, as Fred Waterford — Fi1m 75, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-handmaids-tale.md)
- *On Wings of Eagles* (2016), as Eric Liddell
- *Risen* (2016), as Clavius
- *Strangerland* (2015), as Matthew Parker
- *Hercules* (2014), as King Eurystheus
- *The Games Maker* (2014), as Morodian
- *Wild Kingdom* (2013), series, as Narrator
- *The Great British Year* (2013), series, as Narrator
- *American Horror Story* (2011), series, as Monsignor Timothy Howard
- *Camelot* (2011), series, as Merlin
- *Shakespeare in the Present* (2011), Actor
- *A Lost and Found Box of Human Sensation* (2010), as Boy (voice)
- *FlashForward* (2009), series, as Mark Benford
- *Against the Current* (2009), as Paul Thompson
- *The Escapist* (2008), as Lenny Drake
- *The Red Baron* (2008), as Captain Roy Brown
- *Spring 1941* (2007), as Artur Planck
- *The Darwin Awards* (2007), as Michael Burrows
- *Goodbye Bafana* (2007), as James Gregory
- *Running with Scissors* (2006), as Neil Bookman
- *The Great Raid* (2005), as Major Gibson
- *Man to Man* (2005), as Jamie Dodd
- *The Merchant of Venice* (2004), as Bassanio
- *Luther* (2003), as Martin Luther
- *Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas* (2003), as Proteus (voice)
- *Killing Me Softly* (2002), as Adam
- *Leo* (2002), as Stephen
- *Dust* (2001), as Elijah
- *Enemy at the Gates* (2001), as Commisar Danilov
- *Rancid Aluminium* (2000), as Sean Deeny
- *Forever Mine* (1999), as Manuel Esquema / Alan Riply
- *Shakespeare in Love* (1998), as Will Shakespeare — Fi1m 79, [page](https://film.one/film/shakespeare-in-love.md)
- *Elizabeth* (1998), as Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/elizabeth.md)
- *The Very Thought of You* (1998), as Laurence
- *Animated Epics: Beowulf* (1998), as Beowulf ( voice )
- *Stealing Beauty* (1996), as Christopher Fox
- *The Vacillations of Poppy Carew* (1995), as Willy
- *Pretty/Handsome*, series, as Bob Fitzpayne
- *The Way of the Wind*, Actor

## Gallery

- ![Joseph Fiennes](https://film.one/media/person/22155/gallery-231010e3eea5.jpg) Joseph Fiennes — Sila from Spain, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/67/JosephFiennescrop.JPG?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Estrella dedicada a Joseph Fiennes en el Paseo de la Fama de Almería. Andalucía, España. (2022)](https://film.one/media/person/22155/gallery-9b54c3a6e6d0.jpg) Estrella dedicada a Joseph Fiennes en el Paseo de la Fama de Almería. Andalucía, España. (2022) — CarlosVdeHabsburgo, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/af/Joseph_Fiennes.jpg/1280px-Joseph_Fiennes.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Зорка «Ворага ля варот», «Закаханы Шэкспір», «Аповесць служанкі». Нью-Ёрк, ліпень 2018.](https://film.one/media/person/22155/gallery-9c47039dd41b.jpg) Зорка «Ворага ля варот», «Закаханы Шэкспір», «Аповесць служанкі». Нью-Ёрк, ліпень 2018. — Greg2600, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b4/Joseph_Fiennes_%2843622434151%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Actor Joseph Fiennes (2009)](https://film.one/media/person/22155/gallery-ec4b881bc3e3.jpg) Actor Joseph Fiennes (2009) — erinc salor, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5d/Joseph_Fiennes_2.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Joseph Fiennes](https://film.one/media/person/22155/gallery-4023f184b182.jpg) Joseph Fiennes — Image via TMDB
- ![Joseph Fiennes](https://film.one/media/person/22155/gallery-560f248c55e2.jpg) Joseph Fiennes — Image via TMDB
- ![Joseph Fiennes](https://film.one/media/person/22155/gallery-2423f19d0b49.jpg) Joseph Fiennes — Image via TMDB
- ![Actor Joseph Fiennes (2009)](https://film.one/media/person/22155/gallery-69508c5551db.jpg) Actor Joseph Fiennes (2009) — erinc salor, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6d/Joseph_Fiennes_3.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Actor Joseph Fiennes (2009)](https://film.one/media/person/22155/gallery-639b71b0bc00.jpg) Actor Joseph Fiennes (2009) — erinc salor, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f6/Joseph_Fiennes_4.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Joseph Fiennes](https://film.one/media/person/22155/gallery-3959bdd95fa0.jpg) Joseph Fiennes — Image via TMDB
- ![Joseph Fiennes](https://film.one/media/person/22155/gallery-ffb2a7798e02.jpg) Joseph Fiennes — Image via TMDB
- ![Joseph Fiennes](https://film.one/media/person/22155/gallery-35704a26990c.jpg) Joseph Fiennes — Image via TMDB

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/joseph-fiennes