Ralph Fiennes has long been one of the most popular and acclaimed actorsbut even he has his faults. Known for his intense performances, Fiennes achieved international recognition in the 1990s with his chilling portrayal of Nazi war criminal Amon Göth in Steven Spielberg's Schindle'r's List, a role that earned him an Oscar nomination and the BAFTA award for best supporting actor. This success was followed by another Oscar nomination for The English Patient, which cemented his reputation as an actor of complex and dramatic characters.
He brought new energy to the iconic role of M in the James Bond franchise, starting with Skyfall in 2012, and wowed audiences in Wes Anderson's colorful The Grand Budapest Hotel as the whimsical and polished Gustave H. However, Despite his success and acclaim, there was a time in the late '90s when Fiennes feared his career was over.
Fiennes revealed that His career had hit rock bottom after the critical and commercial failure of the satirical action-espionage film 'The Avengers' in 1998. Starring alongside Uma Thurman and Sean Connery, The Avengers was an adaptation of the cult 1960s British television series known for its outlandish espionage adventures, but the film failed to capture the same magic, earning a dismal 5% on Rotten Tomatoes and quickly becoming a box office disaster.
Reflecting on this period in an interview with Vanity Fair, Fiennes explained how the reception of The Avengers left him feeling deeply insecure about his future as an actor. “I was going through a bit of a difficult time. I had made a big turkey, The Avengers, which was the turkey of all turkeys. There was not even a premiere, nor screenings. They just said 'Release it and then close your eyes.' And I was literally thinking… my career is over.”
This period of uncertainty proved to be a turning point that helped the actor continue building a legacy full of compelling performances. From his work in the early 2000s and 2010s on the Harry Potter series as Voldemort to Skyfall and The Grand Budapest Hotel, Fiennes remains a testament to how a performer can overcome even the toughest setbacks and come out stronger.
Joaquín Gasca is an expert in competitive sports, technology and motorsports. Some time ago he hung up his cleated boots to focus on paddle tennis and running… age-related things, he complains. But he also signs up for any bombing that has to do with pushing his body to the limit, whether driving an Aston Martin or going to the office on a scooter.
He is very Atlético de Madrid, so when footballers like Marcos Llorente or Álvaro Morata have starred on the cover of Men's Health, he was there to write them. He has just run his first marathon for Runner's World, and as happens in this universe, he is already looking for the next one to get under 3 hours. If you have to test any type of paddle tennis racket, vehicle or watch, it is no problem. Even sneakers. Whatever you need in sports equipment.
Joaquín graduated in journalism from USP-CEU in 2013, but since 2009, when he joined the University newspaper, he began working as a 360-degree “journalist” in digital and print. The next steps of his almost 15-year career were taken doing culture and sports at Shangay magazine, until he joined Hearst a week before the start of the pandemic in 2020. He is also a professor of social networks and new technologies at Universitas Senioribvs CEU and is part of Hearst's Innovation HUB to research new trends.
