artist | The Lord of the Rings | Joe Fiennes | Guildhall School of Music & Drama

"I spent three years at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama. That's where Ewan McGregor studied, and David Thewlis, who is in Kingdom of Heaven. And Joe Fiennes. You can go and see the third-year performances there. It's a great school. I had three fantastic years there. It's next door to the Barbican. The Royal Shakespeare Company had productions going on at the Barbican, and we would go and see productions there. But we had our own productions at school. That was where I learned it was something I really loved. Acting and learning about Shakespeare."

Tale #7: The Artist Learns The Art Of High Tea
"Tea at Fortnum & Mason is great. You get great fresh tea there. When I say fresh, what I mean is loose tea or tea bags. My cousin's got a big thing for the tea at Fortnum & Mason, so we go and grab tea there and bring it back to L.A. They also have Marmite and bangers and mash and fish and chips. Fortnum & Mason is very English. Just the packaging of the teas or whatever you're buying and the shop itself is very old-school English."

Tale #8: The Budding Thespian Meets The Lord Of The Rings
"The Hubbards, who cast The Lord of the Rings, were the first casting agents I met. I remember Ros Hubbard said something that has stuck with me. She's Irish, a beautiful, lovely woman, and she said, 'I have a feeling you could do anything you put your mind to.' And it just gave me such confidence, her saying something as simple as that to a young actor. Then I met Peter Jackson. It was at this little place on Whitfield Street, like a church hall. I remember walking into the room and seeing him and [Jackson's wife] Fran and thinking what an amazing energy they had. They had come over from New Zealand and were probably very jet-lagged, but they were just amazing, so friendly and so encouraging."

Tale #9: The Artist Returns Home