Why Did Ralph Fiennes Almost Turn Down Playing Voldemort?

Ralph Fiennes, great actor that he is, is probably more recognizable these days in sinister supervillain makeup than he is outside of it. That’s because he played Voldemort in the Harry Potter series, an iconic role that he filled excellently. He was hesitant for one simple reason: He didn’t know anything about Harry Potter. “The truth is I was actually ignorant about the films and the books,” he said, as transcribed by Digital Spy.