One could say that Hero Beauregard Faulkner Fiennes Tiffin was genetically engineered to become a leading man, and one wouldn't be wrong. The 21-year-old star of After, out April 12, descends from a line of movie-makers, movie-stars, and heart-throbs (yes, we see some Uncle Joseph Fiennes circa Shakespeare in Love in you, Hero).
But Fiennes Tiffin has a charm that's entirely his own. His After character, Hardin Scott, is a curmudgeon at best, blaring Red Flag at worst — and Fiennes Tiffin doesn't seem to be anything like him. Through the lens of my thirst-tinted glasses, he's a delight.
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Here's what's for sure: Hero Fiennes Tiffin is on an upward trajectory. Just a few years ago, he was a teenager posting goofy prank on Instagram; now, he has over a million followers and a swarm of newly converted fans who comment on all photos. If you're taking applications for a new heartthrob in your life, it's worth considering Fiennes Tiffin.
You saw him in Harry Potter, even if you don’t know it yet.
When he was 11, Fiennes Tiffin appeared in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince as a young Tom Riddle. Fiennes Tiffin was an obvious pick, because his uncle, Ralph, played Voldemort.
“It was an advantage that he looked very similar to Ralph,” the film’s director David Yates said, as reported by Metro UK in 2008. “But, primarily, I went for Hero because of this wonderful haunted quality that seemed to bring Tom Riddle alive on screen for us.”
Naturally, he's a model.
Most recently, Fiennes Tiffin graced the cover of the Spring 2019 Prada Wonderland issue. He also starred in an H&M film directed by Baz Luhrmann. He walked in the Dolce and Gabbana fashion shoot.
Hero comes from a famous (and very interesting) family.
The actor’s immediate family is very much plugged into the movie industry. His mother is Martha Fiennes, an English writer-director and sister of actors Ralph and Joseph Fiennes. His father is George Tiffin, a cinematographer.
Fiennes Tiffin’s other relatives are adventurers, actors, movie-makers, iconic (fictional) villains, wealthy industrialists, and members of the English gentry. Yep: He is that kind of Fiennes – a member of a family so interesting it got its own TV special. Here’s the real, pressing question: When is the novelized version of the Fiennes family coming out?
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To understand the full scope of the Fiennes family, we have to zoom back at least one generation. Martha’s parents, Jennifer Lash and Mark Fiennes, had seven children together — all of whom are accomplished. Joseph and Ralph became award-winning actors while Sophie and Martha become filmmakers. Magnus Fiennes is a composer, Jacob Fiennes is a conservation manager, and Michael Emery, their adopted son, is an archaeologist.
The Fiennes parents were accomplished too. Jennifer Lash was an acclaimed English novelist who published her first novel at age 23. Mark Fiennes was a photographer, illustrator, and the son of industrialist Maurice Fiennes. Mark's cousin, Ranulph Fiennes, is called the “World’s Greatest Living Explorer” by the Guinness Book of World Records. At the age of 73, Ranulph cut off his frostbitten fingers with a Black and Decker and a saw.
While Mark was raised in wealth, he and his seven-child family faced financial difficulties. When the Fiennes kids were young, Jennifer and Mark sold photographs of the disappearing Irish countryside; Jennifer gave up writing to raise her children. When their Irish way of life was no longer was financially viable, the family moved to England and flipped houses. They moved 14 times in 14 years.
Hero has two siblings.
Ah, you want more Fiennes content now, don’t you? Hero Fiennes Tiffin has two siblings: A sister, Mercy (17), and a brother, Titan Nathaniel (23). As a girl, Mercy appeared in the movie The Duchess.
He wasn't sure he always wanted to be an actor.
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His family had a lot to do with his decision to go into acting. “My family being in [the industry] definitely had an effect on it at the start, because I wouldn’t have considered it an option if I weren’t in a family that does it,” Fiennes Tiffin told WWD.
After Harry Potter, he went back to school. That plunge back into "normal life" forced him to realize he enjoyed acting.
After After, you can see him on TV.
Fiennes Tiffin starred as Ioan Fuller in the Netflix thriller series Safe, based on a Harlan Coben novel. He's also in the 2019 show Cleaning Up, about a single mother who turns to insider trading to get by.
He could've been in other famous TV shows.
Fiennes Tiffin auditioned for Dunkirk and the second season of Strangers Things, but didn't get the parts. The nerve of casting directors, I tell you! As a side note, Harry Styles was cast in Dunkirk; in After, Fiennes Tiffin's character, Hardin, is based on Styles.
He's never had a girlfriend.
“I’ve never had, like, a proper relationship. I haven’t had a girl I would call my girlfriend," Fiennes Tiffin told Elle. He's waiting for his Tessa (the name of his love interest in After).
He has a dog named Diesel.
What a good boy.
He's a Scorpio.
But that should come as no surprise.