How Conclave became Ralph Fiennes most ‘soul-bearing’ performance yet-Asyia Iftikhar and Tori Brazier-Entertainment – Metro

Conclave director Edward Berger shared exactly why Hollywood star Ralph Fiennes was the perfect actor to bring his Pope thriller to life.

The upcoming movie, tipped for the Oscars, is based on Robert Harris’ 2016 novel which follows Cardinal Lawrence (played by Ralph) who is tasked with the ancient process of selecting the next Pope when he ends up uncovering shocking truths about the potential candidates.

The film has already received rave reviews, with many critics praising the 61-year-old actor for his astonishing turn as the film’s protagonist.

But it doesn’t come as a surprise for the All Quiet on the Western Front filmmaker who knew he wanted the acclaimed screenstar to helm the movie while he was creating the script with Tessa Ross, the producer, and Peter Strong, the screenwriter.

In a chat with Metro at the Conclave premiere at the London Film Festival on Thursday, he opened up about the casting process.

‘It works its way out while you’re writing, while you’re developing the script,’ he explained.

Ralph Fiennes was the indisputable star to lead Conclave’s cast (Picture: Focus Features / AP)

‘While I did that with Tessa and Peter it slowly developed and Ralph [Fiennes] more and more crystallized in my mind that I thought he must play this person, because this hero, this protagonist, is a quiet person.

‘He doesn’t have the most lines and yet Ralph is someone who invites us into a soul. I can see behind his eyes what’s going on there and that felt very important for that role.’

There is plenty of buzz around a potential Oscar nomination (and win) for Ralph who was previously nominated for best supporting actor in Schindler’s List in 1994 and best actor in The English Patient in 1997.

Could this mark the end of an almost two-decade-long Academy Award dry spell?

He is joined by a stacked cast including John Lithgow (Picture: Focus Features / AP)

His performance is only bolstered by his Hollywood heavyweight co-stars Stanley Tucci and Isabella Rosellini who play Cardinal Bellini and Sister Agnes.

Although the Vatican reportedly helped author Robert Harris during research for his novel, the Oscar-winning director confirmed the religious institution was decidedly not involved in the film adaptation, ‘as they shouldn’t be’.

Edward continued: ‘I don’t know! I mean, they will watch the movie. I know that every Cardinal is really keen to see the movie, because obviously it’s a movie about them, so they want to see it.

‘And I have the news from a Jesuit professor from New York, who’s 92 years old, who called a friend of mine and said: “Have you heard anything about this movie Conclave?” And this friend of mine said: “Sure. A friend of mine made it”, and he said, “Tell him, I really want to see it!”

Director Edward Berger said Cardinals have expressed interest in watching the film (Picture: Focus Features/ AP)

‘So I think Jesuits or Cardinals are interested in this movie. If they comment, I don’t know!’

The movie is a major switch-up after his award-winning World War One movie All Quiet on the Western Front, something that was a purposeful choice for Edward.

He explained: ‘I always want to change gears. I feel like I want to make a movie that I know nothing about, that feels different from the last one, because I want to be afraid of it.

‘I want to be able to fail and try to overcome that fear of failure. So I think it’s a really important part to just change gears every time.’

Edward and Ralph have proved themselves to be a lethal duo, with the Guardian review describing Conclave as a ‘pulpy papal thriller [with] a brisk, page-turning allure.

Meanwhile, the Evening Standard called Ralph ‘simply hypnotic’ while The Times described the actor as someone who ‘commands each frame with the angst of someone for whom self-expression is both a luxury and a danger.’

Conclave arrives in UK cinemas on November 29.

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