Ralph Fiennes felt "a little bit lost" while making 'Maid in Manhattan'

The acclaimed actor told PEOPLE: "It was rom-com writing. It was light.

"[But] I think I felt a little bit at sea sometimes. [I wondered] 'Now, who is this Republican senator?' My antennae for things American - I think - got better since. But then I think I was kind sometimes a little bit lost."

Natasha Richardson - who died in a ski accident in 2009, age 45 - also starred in the movie. And Ralph still has fond memories of working with the late actress.

He shared: "I was friends with Natasha. And it was incredibly devastating to all of her friends and - of course - to her family that she died so tragically and so young. I have a lot of happy memories of spending time with Natasha and [her husband] Liam [Neeson].

"She was a wonderful, kind, open, generous host, wonderful actress, and I really valued her friendship."

Meanwhile, Ralph previously confessed to having accepted "paycheque" roles at times in his career.

The actor - who has enjoyed a hugely successful career on stage and screen - told Sky News: "I do have faith that good films can be made that contribute to our cultural life and the same as the theatre. But do we have moments of doubt that it's full of corruption, opportunism? Have we indeed ourselves participated in the paycheque film and it's not been that great?

"Yes. I mean, we can have our ideals and then we can, of course, succumb to it, can succumb to cynicism, monetary gain."