British Actor, Director Fiennes Handed Serbian Passport, ID Card

Ralph Fiennes (left) received Serbian citizenship and an ID card from President Aleksandar Vucic in Belgrade on September 24.

British actor and director Ralph Fiennes received a Serbian passport and an ID card from the Balkan country's president after he was granted citizenship earlier this month.

President Aleksandar Vucic handed the documents to Fiennes during a ceremony in the presidency building in Belgrade on September 24.

"We Serbs are happy to have you as a friend and now we have you as our compatriot," Vucic told Fiennes.

"Thank you for accepting this Englishman in your fatherland,” the 54-year-old actor said in Serbian. “I am honored."

The government of Prime Minister Ana Brnabic granted citizenship to Fiennes on September 7.

At the time, Brnabic described Fiennes as a “genuine friend and promoter of our country.”

In June, he attended the inauguration ceremony for Vucic.

Fiennes, a two-time Oscar nominee, came to Serbia in 2010 to shoot an adaptation of William Shakespeare's Coriolanus.

He is currently in Belgrade to film a movie on Soviet ballet icon Rudolf Nureyev.

U.S. actor Steven Seagal is among other Western celebrities who have been granted Serbian citizenship in the past.

With reporting by AP and AFP