Ralph Fiennes was nominated to the Golden Globes, SAG (Screen Actors Guild) and Academy Awards as Best Actor for his leading role in Conclave, directed by Edward Berger from a screenplay by Peter Straughan based on the 2016 novel by Robert Harris, with a supporting cast that included Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, Sergio Castellitto and Isabella Rossellini.

You may read here my interview with the Italian actress about Conclave.

The British actor did win an award as Outstanding Performer of the Year on February 6 at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, , where he talked about his great uncle, Benedictine monk and theologian Sebastian Moore. And on February 2 he was named Actor of the Year by the London Film Critics Circle.

As an entertainment journalist I interviewed Fiennes numerous times and wrote interviews for the Italian magazines Gioia, Marie Claire, and Voilà.

I selected quotes from his 2005 interview about The Constant Gardener by Fernando Meirelles, as part of my weekly series Out of the Archives on the Golden Globes website.

I wrote a paper about Quiz Show (1994) directed by Robert Redford, while studying for my Master Degree in Critical Studies at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts.

I also admired his acting performances in Schindler’s List (1993) by Steven Spielberg, The English Patient (1996) by Anthony Minghella, Oscar and Lucinda (1997) by Gillian Armstrong, The End of the Affair (1999) written and directed by Neil Jordan from the 1951 novel by Graham Greene, The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) by Wes Anderson.

I wrote an article about Rudolph Nureyev, the subject of The White Crowe that Fiennes directed.

Ralph Fiennes said about the cardinal he plays in Conclave that he had considered leaving the Vatican to pursue a monastic live, and when he’s put in this position, he’s a reluctant manager of these political machinations, does not enjoy the responsibility. He’s a listener, does not like any of these scandals that emerge out of the shadows, and ideally he wants to move beyond them, to all be calmly resolved.  But he’s a man of spiritual integrity, facing the challenge of making sure the election proceeds ethically, morally and transparently. He has the wisdom to know that we’re all fallible, none of us are saints. The actor agrees with the intelligent provocation of the speech that Lawrence delivers at the conclave about the necessity of doubt, because if there were only certainty, there would be no mystery and therefore no need for faith. He added that the principle of asking questions is a good one to hold on to, that tolerance is even more important now in the world we’re entering.

At the Golden Globes Conclave was nominated for Best Picture, Edward Berger for Best Director, Peter Straughan for Best Screenplay and he won, Volker Bertelmann for Best score, Isabella Rossellini for Best Supporting actress. The Academy Awards had the same nominations for Conclave, only leaving out Edward Berger as director.