UK InStyle Magazine
February 2002
By Polly Williams
Joseph Fiennes may have come to our attention in a pair of tights, but now he wears the trousers. Preferably loose ones. While he claims to have nothing to declare but his lack of style - "It's not high on my list"- the truth is, he's no ordinary Joe. Not with those box-office-smash eyes, quiet self assurance, and acclaimed performance in Shakespeare In Love. Not with a CV that includes studying at the Guildhall, stints at the Young Vic and the Royal Shakespeare Company, and smouldering on screen showings in Stealing Beauty, Elizabeth, Enemy At The Gates, and the new release Killing Me Softly - an erotic thriller about a mysterious mountaineer who forms an unusual relationship with a research scientist, played by Heather Graham.
Born to a novelist/painter mother and a photographer father in Salisbury in 1970, Fiennes is one of six siblings. The family led a Bohemian, peripatetic existance, moving gypsy-like around Britain and Ireland; indeed, they are now the von Trapps of the arts world. Apart from his inimitable older brother Ralph (The English Patient, Schindler's List), there's director Martha (Onegin), producer Sophie, and composer Magnus. Bucking the trend, Joe's twin brother, Jacob, "lives a sane life" as a gamekeeper.
Not seduced by the showbiz epherema, Fiennes enjoys outdoors pursuits, marmite and even a spot of DIY in his new Notting Hill house. In other words, Fiennes is a man with the world, not just the boards, at his trainer shod feet.
Describe your style.
Baggy, loose. I run around a lot, so I just throw on hard wearing things like trainers and jeans. I don't dress for anyone else, just my own comfort. I like Gap. I am the antithesis of style.
How do clothes figure in your childhood?
Hand-me-downs. As the youngest, I got to choose from many wardrobes. I loved desert boots, my favorite. When I was 10, I went to prep school for a year. We had to wear grey flannel shorts and a cloth cap embroidered with a little swan. The we moved to south London, and my mother packed us off to the new school wearing exactly the same kit. I got beaten up. That's when I learnt not to be glamorous!
Style-wise, are you and your twin brother alike?
We're quite different. He's a gamekeeper in Norfolk, involved in conservation. He works so incredibly hard, it puts the rest of us to shame. He's very stylish. He wears tweed jackets and is very much the country gent. We weren't dressed the same as children. Being called "the twins" was enough. You had to fight for your own identity.
Was Ralph a glamorous older brother?
No, not at all.
What's the most foolish thing you've done to be hip?
I was into the Stray Cats [the Eighties' rockabilly band]. I had a quiff and my Kickers shoes. (I loved the little lollipop thing on the laces). But I've never been a victim. I wasn't old enough in the Seventies to do the Seventies thing. And I didn't conform to the Eighties, so I managed to avoid those horrendous fashion decades. From the age of 23, I was at drama school. I couldn't afford to think about fashion and it wasn't on my agenda. The bottom line is ... I was square.
Do you let the women in your life style you?
Nobody has attempted to, so either they like me square or think I'm beyond help.
What do you like women to wear?
I like a woman to be at ease in whatever she's wearing, to feel sexy. You pick up the prescence of someone who is very happy with themselves and what they're wearing. It's not so much the clothing. Heels? I love heels. It's not a fetish, but there is something very sexy about them.
What about gear for premieres?
I do have some beautiful suits - Versace and Armani. There's something very elegant, very stylish about Armani's cut and cloth.
Who are your style idols?
Me - I'm idle. And Marlene Dietrich is interesting. It was groundbreaking for a woman to jump into a man's suit in that way. She's someone who found her identity through her clothes. They made her feel confident and sexy.
Was it odd doing the nude scenes in Killing Me softly?
You are conscious that you are naked and everyone else is dressed. It's a slightly unnatural setting. But the fear is not the physical exposure, its's the way it's going to be shot, edited, and perceived. So really it's about trusting a good director.
How was the mountain climbing?
I don't really climb in the film. But in my free time, I persuaded the instructors to go climbing in this Scottish gorge, against the wishes of the insurers. It was very exposed. 2,000 ft high, with winds whipping at 40mph - very different to the climbing wall in the gym where I trained. It gave me an inkling of what makes these boys tick. It's about pushing your barrier of fear, doing something all your senses are telling you not to do. I've gone back since [filming], not because of the danger - it's about finding, your own personal restrictions.
Did you have to be fit for the role?
As a mountaineer, you can't really have a beer belly, although mountaineers aren't fitness fanatics. They can carry their own weight and develop very impressive backs, but climbing is more about agility and intelligence than muscle.
What's your exercise routine?
I try to do Pilates - an intelligent form of exercise -once or twice a week. And I do a bit of yoga. I've been practising both since drama school, where they were part of our training in being at ease physically and understanding our physical relationship with space. If I'm outdoors, I like to go for long walks, but I don't walk enough in London. In fact, I'm appalled by how much I drive.
Are you diet conscious?
I try to eat well. I was a vegetarian once because my girlfriend was ... and, well she'd cook. But then I got a taste for meat again. I have a juicer and I like juice.
Have you ever had to lose or gain weight for a film?
No, but I would actually really love to have the chance. It would lend you a route, a way to slip into character. If you put on four stone, you'd be conscious of the role always. It would change the way you moved and how people perceived you.
Why are your family so talented?
I really don't know. Maybe we've just got funny genes.
Killing Me Softly is out in April.
