Ralph Fiennes is opening up about a time in his career when he felt like he was on shaky ground.
The British actor, 61, recently sat down exclusively with PEOPLE to chat about memorable moments from his iconic film roster, tackling everything from playing Voldemort in the Harry Potter films to playing another type of villain in 1993’s Schindler’s List. And there was one moment in particular in which Fiennes revealed that he was not as sure of himself as he may have seemed: Playing opposite Jennifer Lopez in the 2002 Cinderella story Maid in Manhattan.
The Conclave star shared that he didn’t feel as though he fully grasped his character in the movie — a fiscally conservative politician — because he didn’t know much about the American political scene at the time.
“It was rom-com writing. It was light,” Fiennes recalled. “[But] I think I felt a little bit at sea sometimes. [I wondered] ‘Now, who is this Republican senator?’ My antennae for things American — I think — got better since. But then I think I was kind sometimes a little bit lost.”
Fiennes played Senate hopeful Christopher Marshall, who falls for Lopez’s Marisa Ventura, a New York City maid posing as a hotel guest.
Fiennes also spoke about his late friend and Maid in Manhattan costar Natasha Richardson, who died in 2009 at the age of 45 following a ski accident.
“I was friends with Natasha,” Fiennes told PEOPLE. “And it was incredibly devastating to all of her friends and — of course — to her family that she died so tragically and so young. I have a lot of happy memories of spending time with Natasha and [her husband] Liam [Neeson]. She was a wonderful, kind, open, generous host, wonderful actress, and I really valued her friendship.”
The actor calls his relationship with Neeson “brother”-like. The two starred in the epic historical drama Schindler’s List together.
“He’s a dear friend,” says Fiennes, while looking at a photo of himself with Neeson from the Steven Spielberg-directed movie. “He had been around the block with films, and he still had a wonderful, supportive sort of older brother quality.”
“I think when you’re there for someone on set you just want to give [your costar] full focus and energy […].” he continued, adding, “You want to go, ‘I’m here. I want to help,’ and say, you know, ‘How can I help you?’ You want to be present. And that’s what I felt from Liam.”
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Looking to the future, Fiennes turned to his latest role as Odysseus in the new film The Return, which costars Juliette Binoche — who he also worked with in the sweeping Oscar-winning 1996 romance The English Patient.
“Since The English Patient, we’ve stayed friends,” says Fiennes. “We both have done theater work. We’ve come to see each other and I’ve got to know her over the years. Her kindness, her openness, her freedom, her courage. I find her a very inspirational figure.”
The Return is in theaters now.
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