Fiennes was launched into the national consciousness as the doe-eyed, luscious-lashed 28-year-old star of Shakespeare in Love opposite Gwyneth Paltrow. He\u2019s self-deprecating about his career since, saying to one interviewer that it condemned him to a decade of \u201cflouncy shirts and horses\u201d and to me that he\u2019s been \u201cpretty much a supporting actor for an actress throughout\u201d. While he\u2019s worked alongside impressive women \u2013 Cate Blanchett<\/a>, Helen Mirren<\/a>, Elisabeth Moss<\/a>, <\/strong>Rachel Weisz<\/a>, Eva Green<\/a> \u2013 his own standout roles include the chilling Commander Waterford in The Handmaid\u2019s Tale<\/a> (whom he describes as \u201cinsidious\u201d). Now 55, he jokes, he\u2019s mostly \u201cplaying dads\u201d. Not least Young Sherlock\u2019s dad in the Amazon series \u2013 young Sherlock being his real-life nephew Hero Fiennes Tiffin \u2013 but also a gripping portrayal of Richard Ratcliffe, husband of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe<\/a>, who was held hostage in Iran for six years, in Prisoner 951.<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/f48239c981872c6a236ad7cccfa2198580a591c9\/0_1599_7760_6208\/master\/7760.jpg?width=140&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=2f21af65d93dc9ce6a86cf6ba6486320\" "\\"Joseph")
<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"