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masterofmystery · 09-01-2011, 07:28 AM

Ralph Fiennes, who is currently starring in the West End production of Shakespeare's The Tempest, recently spoke to BBC Radio about how he hoped Harry Potter fans would take their interest in him as an actor and transfer their interest to his love of the Bard, as well. Fiennes, who famously portrayed villainous Lord Voldemort in the Harry Potter series, commended director David Yates on keeping the spirit and intensity of some of the big battle and emotional scenes between him and Harry, played by Daniel Radcliffe, in the final film, Deathly Hallows: Part 2. The audio for the interview can be heard here, where Fiennes mused over how fans of all ages still recognised him outside the set, despite having a full nose in real life.

The final movie, Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part ll, has just broken box office records. In the films, Fiennes wears prosthetic make-up to distort his face but he says fans do still recognise him in the street.

"I thought with the lack of nose as Voldemort I would get away with it, but sadly it's not often the case.

"I've somehow been unmasked so I do get 'Voldemorted' a bit."

He hopes the Potter fans who are attracted to see The Tempest will love Shakespeare as much as he does.

"There is an expressiveness, an extraordinary elasticity of expression in Shakespeare which is thrilling to me and I hope other people find it thrilling," he says.

"That's why I'm doing this. I think the language still connects."

The Tempest may seem like a stark contrast to the Harry Potter films but he says there is a similarity in the acting.

"When you're doing it, it matters more than anything else. Whatever context it is, you want it to be as real, as immediate, as genuine and as discovered as possible.

"What I liked about David Yates's direction on Harry Potter - yes in one sense it was fun but he would challenge - is that he would keep digging for these little moments.

"For a so-called big franchise film, where he had a guaranteed audience, he wouldn't let up mining the intensity of those moments of Voldemort and Harry and I loved that."