Ralph Fiennes asked Charles Van Doren for directions to nail movie voice

Actor Ralph Fiennes tracked down TV cheat Charles Van Doren and asked him for directions so he could hear the quiz show conman’s voice before playing him in a movie. The British star took the lead role in Robert Redford’s 1994 movie Quiz Show, which tells the story of the 1950s TV game show scandal in the U.S., when it emerged Van Doren had been fed the answers to questions on Twenty One so he could embark on a winning run.
Fiennes was keen to perfect his performance of the silky-voiced contestant, so a producer of the movie found the address of Van Doren’s home near Falls Village, Connecticut and they went on a trip to track him down.
Fiennes tells British magazine Seven, “One of the producers on the film knew whereabouts he was supposed to live. We went up and passed his house and he was on the front porch and I remember asking him the way back to the village just so I could hear his voice. I didn’t say who I was, I certainly didn’t say I was the actor playing him. The conversation was less than 30 seconds probably.”