Fiennes gains new respect for the Cuban cigar industry

Joseph Fiennes, who co-starred with Gwyneth Paltrow in the 1998 film "Shakespeare in Love," has helped launch a new Cuban cigar, tossing off a few lines from "Romeo and Juliet" in honor of the cigar's maker.

Fiennes was the featured visitor as Cuba began its annual cigar festival Monday night, presenting a cigar size called the "Short Churchill" by Cuba's state-owned Romeo and Juliet brand at Havana's Gran Teatro.

"I've really gained a newfound respect for the kind of level of attention, detail, complexity and energy that goes into making a cigar," the 35-year-old British actor told reporters.