Ralph Fiennes reacts to Pope Leo XIV watching Conclave: Is it rubbish?

Ralph Fiennes has many questions for Pope Leo XIV.In a new interview with Entertainment Weekly, the Oscar nominee, 62, was asked about Leo, 69, watching his 2024 film “Conclave” before he was elected the head of the Catholic Church last month.“My thoughts are questions,” Fiennes told the outlet.“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,” the “28 Years Later” star continued.

“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.”While the Edward Berger-directed film was fictional, Fiennes said he thinks they were accurate enough in portraying the process of electing the next pope.“I think we did get the rituals right,” he stated.“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.”“I guess if the next pope watched ‘Conclave,’ of course, at a simplistic level, I’m delighted,” Fiennes added.“But I mean, I want him to like it.

If he didn’t like it, what can I do? I’ve done it!”In “Conclave,” which is based on a 2016 Robert Harris novel, Fiennes plays a cardinal tasked with selecting a new pope and finds himself investigating secrets and scandals about the major candidates, which include Stanley Tucci’s progressive Cardinal Bellini and Sergio Castellitto’s conservative Cardinal Tedesco.In May, Leo’s brother, John Prevost, confirmed that the Catholic leader watched “Conclave” before the election.“I said, ‘Are you ready for this? Did you watch the movie ‘Conclave’ so you know how to behave?’ He had just finished watching the movie ‘Conclave,’ so he knew how to behave,” Prevost told NBC News.“So it’s that kind of stuff, because I wanted to take his mind off of it,” he added.“You know, laugh abo...