LOS ANGELES – How did a crucial Filipino character in Conclave, a thrilling fiction drama on the secret process to elect a new Pope and widely bruited as one of the best picture contenders in this awards season, get switched to Mexican?
In Robert Harris’ original book of the same name, on which director Edward Berger’s terrific Conclave is based, Vincent Benitez is a Filipino assigned as the Archbishop of Baghdad. It’s a very important character that’s key to a major twist in the film.
In Wiki’s entry on the novel, the character is described as “a Filipino. His arrival to the conclave comes as a surprise, as he was created cardinal in pectore [in the breast or heart or in this case, in secret] by the Pope in the months before his death.”
Benitez “has a storied reputation for establishing shelters for abused women and children in the Philippines and the Democratic Republic of the Congo before the late Pope appointed him to the vacant archdiocese in Iraq.”
In the excellent film adaptation, however, the character’s nationality was changed to Mexican, played by Carlos Diehz. I asked Focus Features, which released Conclave in the US, if someone with the film could comment on this change.
Director Edward Berger replied to my question via email: “We looked for this role all over the world, especially in the Philippines but also all over the rest of Southeast Asia. We so wanted to stay true to the book and honor the nationality but given the complex sexuality of this character, it is truly the hardest role I ever had to cast.”
“We finally found the one man who we believed could have this character’s past and that was Carlos Diehz — he happened to be from Mexico, another underrepresented Catholic country on the other side of the world.”
To his credit, Carlos, in his first feature role, delivers a quietly impactful performance in Conclave. The Mexican native, 53, lives in Vancouver, Canada where he works as an architect. He began seriously pursuing acting only in 2020.
But I am just tantalized what a Filipino actor could have done with the role. Several Pinoy actors come to my mind.
Carlos is part of the film’s fine ensemble, led by Ralph Fiennes, a best actor contender for his performance as Cardinal Lawrence, the Dean of the College of Cardinals responsible for running the conclave, the very private election process that will vote on a new Pope.
The other principal actors play the leading papal contenders: Stanley Tucci, Cardinal Secretary of State, Bellini; John Lithgow, Cardinal Tremblay; Lucian Msamati, Cardinal Adeyemi; and Sergio Castellitto, Cardinal Tedesco.
Amid this male-dominated cast is Isabella Rossellini, who is earning best supporting actress nomination buzz as Sister Agnes, tasked with running Casa Santa Marta, the Vatican City building where the Cardinals stay during the conclave.
In a video press conference, Edward, Ralph, Isabella, Lucian, John, and Stanley talked about Conclave, including the casting of Carlos.
Edward, the German filmmaker whose credits include All Quiet on the Western Front (2022) and Jack (2014), elaborated about tapping Carlos who appeared in two shorts before landing this breakthrough role:
“Carlos Diehz is an actor from Mexico who lives in Vancouver now. And that’s how we looked for the role the world over. It didn’t matter if it was Canada, America, South America, Central America, Asia…everywhere.”
“We wanted a character that complements this wonderful cast but also that feels new to all of us. To the audience. Because he’s an unexpected arrival.”
“I didn’t want another actor. All of these other people are too known, in a way. I wanted someone who’s really like new to the audience, fresh, that the audience sees him arrive and kind of, oh who’s that?”
“And they’re discovering someone new. And that’s interesting to me as an audience member — whenever I see a new cast, an actor in a movie, I go, oh I wonder who that is.”
“And I want to get to know them. That’s the feeling that they have towards him. And he’s also someone who’s very much in the background.”
“There’s a lot of people who are very much in the background in this movie, who still play central roles, and that grow into the movie. And for all of us to discover this new family member was important.”
Lucian shared about welcoming Carlos, a novice actor in the company of award-winning veteran thespians. “It’s the DNA of the movie; it’s the DNA of these amazing artists. There was no way we could have done the film without welcoming Carlos in.”
“It is always a gift to rediscover the delight and the wonder of what you do, through the eyes of another. It’s very easy to forget, when you sit in this wonderfully hallowed, heightened, beautiful bubble at times, to rediscover the magic, the mystery, the joy of that. And he was a great playmate.”
John added about Carlos, “An extraordinarily sweet man. We were all so fond of him and kind of protective of him. He needed no protection, of course. He is exactly what the movie required. And he just showed up and delivered.”
Berger remarked, “I have to just point this out — not that the other cast members need it — but a lot of it starts with your lead actor. And it’s too often underestimated.”
“That person creates a spirit on set that is energetic, inclusive, generous. I would argue that you could film Ralph, even when he’s off camera, and it’ll be just as excellent.”
“Because when Carlos is there acting with Ralph, and the camera’s on Carlos, Ralph is always behind the camera, and giving it everything.”
“When you feel that, for everyone, for the person who puts up the lights, that’s inspiring, and for these gentlemen and ladies to come in and go like, oh there’s someone who brings this spirit and this energy and this generosity to it, then everyone wants to give that as well.”
“That’s the spirit that Carlos stepped into. A spirit of generosity and helping each other, and being there for each other, looking out for each other.”
On the research that went behind the Conclave novel, published in 2016, and screenplay that offer a fascinating glimpse into the mysterious selection of a new Pope, Berger replied, “We know very little about it because obviously, the door is closed. It’s the most secretive election for one of the most important spiritual leaders in the world.”
“All I know is the white smoke, black smoke. I was raised Protestant. And suddenly, someone steps out on a balcony so to take us behind those closed doors was very interesting.”
“But we had a lot of great religious advisors, a wonderful religion teacher, a theologist who was there every day, and told us what is known about these elections and guided us through it.”
“We had obviously the book of Robert Harris who did a lot of research and Peter Straughan’s screenplay, who had also done a lot of research. So there was a wealth of material to fall back on.”
Isabella, for her part, said, “I was born and grew up in Rome. I was maybe a little bit more familiar than some, at least with the look of the church, the Sistine Chapel, the ritual, authority, secrecy, and respect of the secrecy.”
“I went to nun school so for me that was very good because I knew that these nuns are silent but they are very severe. They know how to pull their weight.”
Ralph pointed out, “Like Edward says, there were some clues and our religious advisor on set was definitely very informed. Quite a bit is known about the actual system of voting and all that is quite well documented.”
“None of us knows the conversations that go in the Casa Santa Marta, which is where all the cardinals stay. So all that stuff is speculation.”
“I was brought up Catholic when I was young. I went to a Catholic primary school in the UK and a Catholic boys’ school in Ireland. So I had a sense of the masculine hierarchical structure of the Catholic Church. So I felt I had a little foothold in some aspects of it.”
John said, “What was so thrilling to me was just feeling like I was entering into a world where everything was teed up for us actors. The few of us here are just representing an ensemble of scores of actors who were collected by Nina Gold, the wonderful casting crew.”
“We were working with the best actors from about thirty different countries in the world. So much had gone into that. So I felt my research was done for me. I was simply surrounded by detail and all the detail was accurate.”
“Just beautiful performances. You have this great sense of just how international the College of Cardinals is because we just had great talent from all these countries.”
Stanley said, “I was brought up Catholic but I can’t say I could put my faith in that faith because there was a lot of logic missing. For me, to reiterate what everyone said, there’s only a certain amount of research that you can do.”
“But then, in the end, you have to rely on the book and the script. Ultimately, you have to rely on the script. Everything was, as John said, so beautifully teed up for us. It was all there. All we had to do was play our roles and listen to that person over there (turning to Edward) when he told us what to do.”
“One of the things that was so interesting was the mythology and the grandiosity of it but underneath all that — and this is what the film shows — is that they’re just people. And that is kind of scary.”
John added, “There were all those wonderful scenes in the cafeteria, which was no different from like a high school cafeteria. Everybody clubbing together in their groups and sort of whispering about each other from table to table.”
Isabella discussed her Sister Agnes, a silent character who has crucial information that may impact this male-heavy setting: “I witnessed it because I am Roman and Catholic and went to Catholic school so I know that there was a very specific hierarchy.”
“But women were not submissive. They were silent but not submissive. That was very clear to me.”
“I remember one of the first days that it was a wide shot of something that can be spelled more by directing or by photography than by acting. It was us, the nuns, walking, and the cardinals walking.”
“First of all, we were like oil and vinegar; we never mixed. We were walking fast, with a direction because we had to clean and prepare. It was like a choreography. They were all talking to one another.”
“So you had these dots moving differently and you immediately understand the role of each one. And that was very inspiring to me. Because I understood I had to be a shadow. But shadows are always present.”
Edward commented, “Isabella is basically the only female presence for a long time in the movie. On the surface, the nuns are there to organize, to make sure that all the cardinals have everything they need for the voting process.”
“I said (to Isabella), ‘Listen, the role is very silent for a long time. But don’t see this as a small role. This is a central role. She is the keeper of all these guys who have come together and she observes everything. And I’m going to film that. I really want to see what you’re thinking.’ ”
“There were a lot of close-ups of Isabella. Ralph’s character likes to stand in the second row. Isabella’s character is relegated to the twenty-seventh row. She really watches from the back.”
“But my focus was, I was very interested that while all these men are plotting and thinking, like who’s going to be the…I wanted to look at her watching them. And that I find interesting.”
“So she’s a very central character in this movie. And she has a very central scene that galvanizes everyone at a key moment in the film.”
And into this setting, a “shadow” suddenly appeared, the enigmatic Vincent Cardinal Benitez. – Rappler.com