Ralph Fiennes
5/15/20261 hr 3 min
At Rosebud we know how lucky we are to meet and talk to so many talented and fascinating guests. And this week we are especially lucky, as our guest is one of our greatest living actors: Ralph Fiennes. In this conversation recorded at the Haymarket Theatre (where Ralph is currently appearing with Miranda Raison in the David Hare play Grace Pervades), Ralph talks to Gyles about his childhood. He talks about his parents - the writer and artist Jennifer Lash, and the farmer-turned-photographer Mark Fiennes - their strengths, their challenges, and their love. He talks about the unusual and artistic home they made for their six children, and the legacy of hard work and creativity that has given him and his siblings. He talks about his mother's illness and death. Ralph also talks about becoming an actor and about the great Victorian actor Henry Irving - who he's playing in Grace Pervades.
This episode was recorded on Shakespeare's birthday at the Haymarket Theatre. Our thanks to the team there.
Ralph Fiennes is appearing in Grace Pervades until 11th July. It tells the story of Sir Henry Irving and his relationship with the great actress Ellen Terry - and is highly recommended. Tickets are available here.
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Transcript preview
First 90 secondsGyles Brandreth· Host0:00
It's a podcast. It's on YouTube. It's a way of life. It's called Rosebud. I'm Gyles Brandreth. Cue the music. [upbeat music] Hello again. This is Gyles Brandreth with another episode of Rosebud. I'm excited today because today's episode is being recorded at one of my favorite theaters in London's West End. It's the Theatre Royal Haymarket, a beautiful theater, one of London's oldest theaters. For me, it's very special because it's there that I went to in the 1960s to see some of my heroes in the world of theater, people like Sir John Gielgud and Sir Ralph Richardson. Currently appearing at this theater is the actor Ralph Fiennes, and he is appearing in a play about Sir Henry Irving. Sir Henry Irving was the first British actor to be given a knighthood. I think until the advent of Henry Irving, uh, well, actors were regarded as being rather disreputable. But when Queen Victoria recognized Henry Irving as the, well, the leading actor of his day and bestowed a knighthood on him... Incidentally, the knighthood was announced on the very day that Oscar Wilde