Steven Spielberg is not an easy director to impress. Being one of the most loved and appreciated directors, he has created a reputation for himself of great many movies only adding to his filmography. He has worked with some of the most incredible actors and that has benefited not just his own movies but the careers of various actors as well.
In the span of his career, there has only been one actor to have charmed and mesmerized Spielberg in the shortest possible time. This actor was none other than Ralph Fiennes. He managed to wow the director in only three takes and to date, Spielberg remembers just how impactful his acting had been.
Ralph Fiennes Wowed Steven Spielberg in Three Takes
While speaking with NBC via El Pais, Steven Spielberg admitted that one movie had caught his eye when it came to Ralph Fiennes. A Dangerous Man: Lawrence After Arabia was the movie that put the director in a state of awe. The actor apparently took only three takes in Schindler’s List. However, Spielberg has only seen the first take.
“To this day, I have only seen the first one. It was absolutely brilliant. As soon as I saw him, I knew it was Amon [Goeth]. I saw s*xual evil. The subtlety. There were moments of kindness that would come through his eyes… and then they would instantly cool down.”
It was not in three takes that the actor managed to mesmerize the director but only one. The way he acted and the power he portrayed with his body language and his eyes was absolutely what Spielberg had been looking for. The movement of his eyes to his hands, everything managed to completely entrance the director was also what made Fiennes the perfect embodiment of evil. Due to that, the director sought it to be best to let the actor do what he wanted.
Ralph Fiennes had Creative Freedom
Giving a detailed outlook of his diet for the role, Ralph Fiennes opened up to the Los Angeles Times, via El Pais. He admitted that it was important for his role to be more heavy to look at, someone with a belly. His power and his beliefs, as per the actor, would lead him to have a belly.
“The power to let people live or die. And powerful men often carry a belly with them, in a way that demonstrates that power. It makes them more expansive, it creates additional space around them. There’s something almost phallic about it.”
Steven Spielberg gave the actor the freedom to do whatever he wanted with the role so as to not interfere with his vision and process. In the end, that was a brilliant idea.
