Ralph Fiennes recently reacted to the revelation that Pope Leo XIV watched his 2024 political thriller Conclave. The latter reportedly did so before entering the real-life papal election earlier this year. The film dramatizes the secretive process of selecting a new pope. Interestingly, it served as an unexpected primer for the now-reigning pontiff.
Ralph Fiennes wonders if Pope Leo XIV thought Conclave movie was ‘rubbish’
Ralph Fiennes never expected Conclave, his Vatican-set political thriller, to end up on a Pope’s watchlist. However, when news broke that the newly elected Pope Leo XIV had watched the film right before participating in the real-life papal election, Fiennes couldn’t help but ask a few burning questions.
“Did he enjoy it? Did he just shrug his shoulders and say halfway through, ‘This is rubbish?’ Or did he get something from it? I’d like to know what he thought,” Fiennes asked while chatting with Entertainment Weekly.
While promoting his latest project, 28 Years Later, the actor took time to reflect on the surreal idea of his performance being analyzed by the head of the Catholic Church. “I’m sure there are many people in the church and many cardinals who’ve looked at it and thought it was nothing like reality,” he admitted. “But I think we did get the rituals right. I’m sure the power politics was amped up for entertainment purposes. But I hope that he saw something of value in it. I just don’t know.”
It all started when John Prevost, brother of Pope Leo XIV, mentioned to NBC News that the former Cardinal Robert Prevost of Chicago had watched Conclave just before entering May’s actual papal conclave. “He had just finished watching the movie Conclave, so he knew how to behave,” John said, recalling their conversation.
Conclave is about a cardinal who uncovers secrets and power games during the election of a new pope.
Originally reported by Devanshi Basu on ComingSoon.
