English Patient Spy was Gay in Real Life

Letters from Hungarian adventurer Count Laszlo de Almasy, who was the basis for Ralph Fiennes's character in The English Patient, have been unearthed, confirming long-circulated rumors that the World War II spy was gay.

According to London's Daily Mail, Almasy's letters were discovered by the Heinrich Barth Institute for African Studies in Cologne, Germany. He was apparently not a womanizer, as the film suggests, but instead in love with Hans Entholt, an officer in the Wehrmacht under Nazi Germany. Entholt died during Gen. Erwin Rommel's retreat from Africa after stepping on a land mine.

The Institute refuses to publish the letters, but a staff member told Der Spiegel magazine that Egyptian princes were among Almasy's lovers.

The English Patient won nine Academy Awards for 1996, including Best Picture and Best Supporting Actress (Juliette Binoche). Fiennes was nominated for Best Actor.