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JOSEPH FIENNES (Martin Luther) portrayed Elizabethan lovers in two 1998 films that brought him critical acclaim and considerable attention from the film-going public: "Shakespeare in Love," in which, as a young
and lusty William Shakespeare, he wooed Gwyneth Paltrow, and "Elizabeth," portraying lover Robert Dudley to Cate Blanchett's Queen Elizabeth 1. Fiennes was born in Salisbury, England. His father was a
professional photographer and his mother, a novelist, who published under the pen name of Jennifer Lash. He is one of six children including his twin brother Jacob and his oldest brother and fellow actor, Ralph. Growing up in a creative atmosphere encouraged Fiennes to explore his various talents. After a stint in art school, he decided to train as an actor. Fiennes joined London's Young Vic Theatre Company and then trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, performing in numerous
stage productions at both. He went on to join The Royal Shakespeare Company for two seasons. At this time, Fiennes began working in television productions and his big break came in 1995 playing Willy in the British television series, "The Vacillations of Poppy Carew." He made his film debut a year later in Bernardo Bertolucci' s "Stealing Beauty." Among his other theatrical film credits are "Enemy at the Gate," an epic film about the Battle of Stalingrad
starring with Jude Law and Ed Harris, "Forever Mine," written and directed by Paul Schrader and starring with Ray Liotta, and the thriller "Killing Me Softly" starring with Heather Graham.
SIR
PETER USTINOV (Prince Frederick the Wise) is an
Academy Award-winning@ actor, author, playwright, producer, raconteur
and citizen of the world. Ustinov speaks six languages and his works
include twenty plays, eight books and many film scripts in addition
to his formidable credit list of 80-p1us films. Ustinov was knighted
in 1990 by
Queen Elizabeth II. His cinematic career began in his native England,
where he was born in London on April 16, 1921. He wrote, directed,
produced and appeared in several films, including "One of Our
Aircraft is Missing," before he was called upon to serve in
the military during WWI1. After the war, Ustinov made his u.S. film
debut and scorched the screen, almost literally, in the role of
the petulant despot, Emperor Nero, in MGM epic "Quo Vadis?,"
for which he received his first of three Oscar nominations as Best
Supporting Actor. Ustinov received two Oscars for Best Supporting
Actor; his first for "Spartacus" and his second for "Topkapi."
He also received an Oscar nomination for his screenplay "Hot
Millions." His other films credits include "Beau Brummell,"
"The Egyptian," "We're No Angels," "Lola
Montes," "Billy Budd,"which he also wrote, produced
and directed, "Blackbeard's Ghost," "Viva Max!,"
"Logan's Run," "Jesus of Nazareth" and "Lorenzo's
Oil," among many others. He portrayed Agatha Christie's famed
literary detective Hercule Poirot in "Death on the Nile"
and reprised the role for the films "Evil Under the Sun"
and "Appointment With Death," as well as the television
productions of "Thirteen at Dinner," "Dead Man's
Folly" and "Murder in Three Acts." As a television
producer his credits include "75 Years of the Academy Awards:
An Unofficial History," "Inside the Vatican," "Peter
Ustinov's Russia: A Personal Journey," "Stanley Kubrick:
A Life in Pictures" and "On the Trail of Mark Twain,"
as well as numerous productions for German-language television.
Additionally, Ustinov became Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF in 1969
and is President of the World Federalist Union.
ALFRED
MOLINA (Johann Tetzel) is a versatile actor celebrated
for his film, television and stage performances. Born in London,
Molina made his film debut in 1981 in Steven Spielberg's "Raiders
of the Lost Ark" He then appeared in "Letter to Brezhnev,"
"Ladyhawke" and "Eleni," but he received critical
attention with his performance as Joe Orton's sadly neglected lover,
Kenneth Halliwell, in "Prick Up Your Ears." Molina's additional
feature film credits include "Not WithoutMy Daughter,"
"Enchanted April," "Boogie Nights," "Magnolia,"
"Chocolat" and "Frida." He has starred in two
television series, "Ladies Man" and more recently, "Bram
and Alice." Molina has played Agatha Christie's detective,
Hercule Poirot, something he shares with Sir Peter Ustinov, in a
television production of "Murder on the Orient Express."
Molina received a Tony Award nomination for his Broadway debut in
"Art," starring with Alan AIda and Victor Garber. His
performance also netted him a Drama Desk Award. Molina was also
nominated for a Drama Desk Award for Most Outstanding Debut Performance
in the off-Broadway production of "Molly Sweeney" at New
York's Roundabout Theater. His other stage credits include London
productions of Tennessee William's "The Night of the Iguana"
and David Mamet's "Speed the Plow," for which he was nominated
for an Olivier Award for Best Comedy Performance. He also received
an Olivier Award nomination for "Oklahoma" at the Palace
Theater.
BRUNO
GANZ (Father Johann von Staupitz) is perhaps best
known to Englishspeaking audiences as the Angel who longs to be
human again in Wim Wender's "Wings of Desire," or as the
voracious vampire in Werner Herzog's "Nosferatu - The Vampire."
Ganz began acting on stage, making a solid career for himself before
venturing before the cameras. Among his film credits are Eric Rohmer's
"The Marquise of 0," "The American Friend,"
"The Boys From Brazil," "Circle of Deceit,"
"Strapless," "The Last Days of Chez Nous" and
"Faraway, So Close!"
JONATHAN
FJ1!IH (Girolamo AJeandro) was born in Essex, England
and is the younger brother of actor Colin Firth. He studied at the
Central School of Speech and Drama for three years. He has worked
primarily in television for the BBC, where he became a heartthrob
as Richard Grey in the 1992 feudal drama "Covington Cross."
This was followed with the mini-series "Middlemarch,"
"Wuthering Heights," "Far From the Madding Crowd"
and "An Ideal Husband," His other television credits include
the NBC mini series "Leprechauns" and the historical drama
"Victoria & Albert." Firth has recently completed
production on "The Last Days of Pompeii," to air on the
BBC in fall 2003.
CLAIRE
COX (Katerina yon Bore) previously appeared in the
1998 theatrical films "The Leading Man," starring Jon
Bon Jovi and Lambert Wilson, and "Shooting Fish," starring
Kate Beckinsdale, Stuart Townsend and Dan Futterman. Her television
roles for the BBC include Dee Parr on "Holby," Faith Wren
on "Wren," Sidney on "Inspector Lynley Mysteries,"
Ianthe Cavendish in "The Choir" and Elsie in "BBC
Memory Bank" and "The Last Salute." On stage, her
performance of Portia in the Royal Shakespeare
Company's "Julius Caesar" brought her a nomination for
the Ian Charleson Award. Other stage productions for the RSC include
"Love in a Wood," "American Soap" and "The
Servant of Two Masters."
BENJAMIN
SADLER (Geore Spalatin) was born in Toronto, Canada,
where he lived until his father moved the family to his native Germany.
He later studied acting at both London's Royal Academy of Dramatic
Arts and New York's Stella Adler Workshop. Among his credits are
the films "Hustle" and "Spuk aus der Gruft."
His television credits include the recently completed BBC production
"Augustus," starring Peter O'Toole, about the first Caesar
of Rome. Sadler's other English-speaking television credits include
"Tattoo," "Apokalypsis," "Mary of Magdalene,"
"Antonia," "Last Wish," "Heaven Beneath
the Desert," "First Love" and "Girlfriends,"
as well as many Germanlanguage television credits.
JOCHEN
HORST (Professor Karlstadt) was born in Osnabriick,
Germany on September 7, 1961. He has worked primarily in German-language
television projects. His English language credits include the feature
films "Swing Kids" and "The Cement Garden,"
as well as the television productions of "Voyage of Terror:
The Achille Lauro Affair," and "Francis."
TORBEN
LIEBRECHT (Emperor Charles V) was featured in his
first international television production, "Monsignor Renaud,"
as the love struck young German soldier, Alois, stationed in occupied
France. Born near Hamburg, Germany, Liebrecht has worked behind
the cameras as an assistant director between his on-camera roles.
His other English-speaking credit is the television movie "Deathwatch."
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