Ralph Fiennes letting off steam about the difficulties of the job. In 1994, he portrayed American academic Charles Van Doren in "Quiz Show." In 1996 he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for the epic World War II romance "The English Patient," in which he starred with Kristin Scott-Thomas. Fiennes' film work has encompassed a variety of genres, including thrillers ("Spider"), an animated Biblical epic ("The Prince of Egypt"), camp nostalgia ("The Avengers"), romantic comedy ("Maid in Manhattan"), and historical drama ("Sunshine"). In 1999, Fiennes had the title role in "Onegin," a film which he also helped produce. His
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (TV series) director Anthony Minghella helmed the pilot episode and co-wrote the teleplay with Oscar nominated writer Richard Curtis. Although McCall Smith declined to write the adaptation, he remained involved as an adviser and visited the set during production. While filming the pilot episode Minghella publicly expressed concerns about how the film might be received in cinemas because the story is far removed from crime genre conventions and has little action. Minghella raised the possibility of it appearing on television instead and he decided to offer the film as a feature-length pilot. Once the pilot was completed, HBO and the BBC ordered