Film-making is risky, says Fiennes

1:26pm Tuesday 28th October 2008

Ralph Fiennes has branded film-making a risky business, not a glamorous one.

The Oscar-nominated actor was speaking at London's British Film Institute where he received the Variety UK Achievement in Film Award as part of the London Film Festival celebrations.

Fiennes insisted the reality of being a Hollywood star was hard work and long hours.

He said: "Often I think people haven't experienced the high pressure of a filming schedule. It isn't all celebration and glamour and glitz. The public see all the red carpets and the gossip columns and the fashion side of things. But actually it's very, very, very long hours, quite high risk and expensive, and everyone has to commit. So it's always a huge achievement when anyone makes it look easy making a film."

The 45-year-old star - who has been the centre of a string of tabloid sex scandals in the last two years - was dismissive of the fame that comes with his job. He said: "It has its positives and negatives, but you deal with the negatives and celebrate the positives."

Fiennes starred in The English Patient and Schindler's List.

The Bafta winner is not the only one in his family with connections to cinema - his younger brother Joseph is an actor, sister Martha a director and sister Sophie a filmmaker.

Fiennes credits his mother, the late writer Jennifer Lash, for leading him into acting. He said: "My mum was a big encouragement for me. She encouraged me to read and see plays."

Fiennes - who plays Harry Potter's nemesis Lord Voldemort in the film series of the hit children's novels - said he still enjoys acting on stage.

He said: "I think it's fantastic if you can mix it up, if you can balance it and do both. There's an extra detail available to an actor on film, which isn't in the theatre. While on the other hand, there's an extension of gesture and voice and expression in the theatre which is more immediate, which you can't usually feel on film."