British actor Ralph Fiennes, (his full name is pronounced 'Rafe Fines') known for his piercing stare and skeletal grin, received his training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. While performing with the Royal Shakespeare Company, Fiennes starred in the British TV movie A Dangerous Man: Lawrence After Arabia. This multi-faceted performance was observed with awe by director Steven Spielberg, who selected Fiennes to play the role of odious Nazi workcamp commandant Amon Goeth in Schindler's List (1993). To match existing photographs of this human vermin, the normally pencil-thin Fiennes gained a great deal of weight, resulting in an obscene but appropriate pot belly. Fiennes was so despicable in Schindler that one might suppose he would never be able to evoke pity from an audience--but he did just that in the role of the tragically flawed Charles Van Doren in director Robert Redford's Quiz Show (1994). In 1995, Fiennes was back on stage, starring in a Broadway production of Hamlet, and back on screen, starring in the futuristic thriller Strange Days. In 1996, Fiennes received an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Count Laszlo de Almasy in the acclaimed romantic drama The English Patient.