Ralph Fiennes: 5 Awesome Performances And 5 That Sucked

1. Dennis "Spider" Cleg - Spider (2002)

No, it's not The English Patient. While Fiennes went on to get another Academy Award nomination for his memorable performance as Count Laszlo de Almásy in 1996, I choose to highlight another, lesser known but more awesome, performance. It's a crime how often his Dennis Cleg in David Cronenberg's Spider gets left out of conversations. After seeing Fiennes kill it as the romantic lead, the aloof aristocrat, the action hero and the malignant villain in various time periods and for big budget productions, there's something extra special in emphasizing his acting achievement in the modern setting of the local and modest production of Spider. The film was so low budget, Fiennes, Miranda Richardson and David Cronenberg all waived their salaries in order to contribute. While big chunks of the story take place mostly in memories, Fiennes has plenty of screen time to show why he's the film's greatest accomplishment. Richardson playing two completely types of roles splendidly also deserves props, but Spider is the perfect showcase for Fiennes because it holds the key to the actor's greatness. Voldemort was showy, Nero was cool, Goeth was disturbing and the three Sors men were all those things and more but Spider is acting in its purest form. While others would magnify a role like this to show off all their acting muscles, Fiennes plays it minimal, reserved, and with interior intensity. The mentally disturbed Cleg barely utters one intelligible word, leaving the power of Fiennes concentrated in the eyes, the gestures and the disparity of facial ticks. Genius. You can't get much finer than Fiennes but as hard as it is to imagine, here are 5 performances from the British actor that kinda sucked...