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British actor Fiennes given Serbian passport
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British actor Ralph Fiennes smiles after receiving a Serbian passport and ID card from Serbia's president in Belgrade on September 24, 2017. Fiennes received honorary citizenship for his work in the country. (AFP/Oliver Bunic)
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ward-winning British actor and director Ralph Fiennes, who portrayed Lord Voldemort in the Harry Potter series, was given a Serbian passport on Sunday for "promoting" the Balkan country.
The decision to grant honorary citizenship to the 54-year-old English star was reached earlier this month by the government of Prime Minister Ana Brnabic.
"I never thought I would become a Serb and now it seems that I am one," Fiennes said in Serbian during a brief ceremony after President Aleksandar Vucic presented him with the passport and an ID card.
"We Serbs are happy to have you as a friend and now we have you as our compatriot," Vucic told Fiennes.
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Fiennes, a two-time Oscar nominee, has featured in some 30 movies including in Schindler's List, The English Patient, Skyfall and Spectre.
He is currently in Belgrade shooting a movie about legendary ballet dancer Rudolph Nureyev after filming in Serbia in 2010 his debut movie as director -- "Coriolanus" -- an adaption of Shakespeare's play.
Fiennes is "promoting Serbia... through his artistic work and business activities", Brnabic told the Politika daily earlier this month.
"He became a genuine friend and promoter of our country and thus undoubtedly deserved honorary citizenship," she said.
