"B" Magazine
April 2001
By Nicole Byers

These days it's more than just a case of Shakespeare in Love for Ralph Fiennes' little brother. It's a matter of everybody in love! "Have you seen Joseph?" purred Elle. "Absolutely. He's gorgeous!" replied Naomi, in a conversation overheard by a journalist at last year's Baftas. But, while we may be in good company when we stare longingly at Joseph's soulful brown eyes. Unlike Naomi, we'll probably never get the chance to flash a metre of leg and entice the 30-year-old hunk into a passionate affair - as she did just a month after eyeing him up. By all accounts, even supermodels are lucky to be in the same room as the very fine Mr. Fiennes. The fiercely private star is a self-confessed "square" who'd rather travel around India on his own than be surrounded by admiring starlets at a party. (Bless!) But fear not, you'll have plenty of chances to catch him on the big screen this year.

Out in March is the WWII epic Enemy At The Gates which he stars in with Jude Law, followed later in the year by the romantic thriller Killing Me Softly with Heather Graham. Which, luckily for us, leaves him with very little time to look for a new girlfriend - he split with fellow actress Catherine McCormack last year. But it's not all big stars and big budgets. Joseph turned down the 1m pounds lead in Roman Polanski's next film, The Pianist, for a 350 pounds a week threatre gig as troubled homosexual Edward II in Charles Marlowe's play of the same name - it opens at Sheffield's Crucible Theatre this month. Polanski then held an open audition for a "sensitive, vulnerable and charismatic" replacement.

But, on that criteria, we fear no-one could quite measure up to our lovely Joseph.