Oscar nominee Ralph Fiennes' heartbreaking family confession after film success

Ralph Fiennes, known for his riveting performances, is once again in the Oscars spotlight as he competes for the award of best actor in a leading role, thanks to his stirring portrayal in Conclave.

The film, which shows Fiennes as Cardinal Lawrence orchestrating the selection of a new Pope, has bagged eight Academy Award nominations.

Fiennes meanwhile undoubtedly stirred the cinema world with his role in the 1993 Oscar-sweeping hit Schindler's List, where he played a Nazi officer—a role that brought him an earlier Oscar nod. Despite its triumph, Ralph revealed the less glamorous side of success – how it impacted his personal life and mourning process following the death of his mother, reports the Irish Star.

In a revealing moment on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Fiennes, the versatile actor who also stole scenes as Voldemort in the Harry Potter series, opened up about his emotions during that period. Hailing from Suffolk and deeply influenced by his mother Jennifer's love for Shakespeare, poetry, and theatre, her death came at a tumultuous juncture alongside the acclaim for Schindler's List.

Ralph candidly shared: "She died at the end of '93, so Schindler's List was filmed in the spring of '93 and my mum sadly died at the very end of December' 93.

"It was a funny time, I mean, not funny like hilarious, it was odd and emotional and full of grief. But there was Schindler's List getting such an extraordinary response and I was reeling from the loss of my mother at the time.

"It was bewildering because I didn't, I suppose... the movement and focus on the film's success and being asked to fly here to this event, and that, so probably not really having time. People say you need time to grieve, and I suppose I didn't. I mean, I found the time but then it was bewildering."

Fiennes, who comes from a family with a rich artistic background, lost his mother Jennifer, a novelist, at the tender age of 55 to breast cancer. His father, Mark, is a photographer, and Jennifer's final literary work, Blood Ties, hit the shelves after her tragic passing.