Joseph Fiennes claims that Harvey Weinstein threatened to end his career with ‘bullying tactic’

‘Shakespeare in Love’ star turned his back on Hollywood after his experience in the Weinstein-produced film

Joseph Fiennes has spoken out about how an interaction with Harvey Weinstein influenced his choice to step away from a lucrative multi-film deal in the late 1990s.

The actor starred in the Best Picture Academy Award-winning historical drama Shakespeare in Love in 1998, playing a fictionalised version of the playwright.

Fiennes was cast in the film by disgraced film producer Weinstein, who, in 2017, was revealed to have used his power to abuse and manipulate people in the entertainment industry.

Weinstein, 71, is currently serving a 23-year prison sentence for various sex crimes and is expected to spend the rest of his life incarcerated.

In a new interview with The Observer, the 53-year-old explained that after Shakespeare in Love, he was in line to work under a coveted five-picture deal.

However, the actor ultimately relinquished the opportunity after he claims Weinstein invited him to his hotel room and told him that if he did not comply with the deal, he would not work in Hollywood again.

“It was a bullying tactic that didn’t sit well,” Fiennes explained in the interview, published on Sunday (11 June).

“The way he explained it was a shock to me. But I suddenly sat in the room very present, and happy and strong in myself to say, you know what, I’m not beholden to that. I’m stepping away.”

Joseph Fiennes and Harvey Weinstein (Getty)

Fiennes then turned his focus to working in theatre. Previously, he’d explained his distance from Hollywood as a desire to avoid working in big-budget, low-quality films.

When asked if he felt that the producer actively hurt his career after he refused the deal, Fiennes stated that Weinstein had expressed that he’d no longer support him.

“I don’t think it helped me. Hurt? No, maybe not hurt. But he made it clear that he won’t support me,” the Handmaid’s Tale star noted.

“He’ll make a very strong movement not to support me. I was out of the family. But I was very happy not to be in the family.”

When approached for comment by The Independent, a representative of Harvey Weinstein denied Fiennes’s account. “Miramax was not offering multi-picture deals and that is as simple as that,” they said.

“Harvey considers Joe a great actor but believes he is either remembering incorrectly or trying to use Harvey’s name and current status to get this publicity.”

Fiennes also confirmed that he had no knowledge of the countless allegations of rape and sexual abuse against Weinstein at the time they worked together.

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