Divine secrets and sacred scandals: The cast of Conclave speaks

At a glance

• Isabella Rossellini’s unexpected reaction to Conclave.

• Casting Ralph Fiennes

• A powerful woman among men

• The benefit of Rossellini's Roman Catholic upbringing

Among all of Conclave’s viral memes and TikToks, Rossellini’s fierce speech, dressing down a room full of bickering cardinals, received the most focus. 

"I didn't know that scene was going to be so impactful until I saw the film at the Toronto Film Festival, and people applauded because, finally, she said something that everybody in the audience wanted to say,” says Rossellini, 72, who won the 'Best Supporting Actress' Oscar for her role.

A nail-biting thriller, Conclave sees more than 100 high-ranking clergymen converge on the Vatican, where some of the most influential men in the Catholic Church have already begun lobbying their peers for votes. 

To play the key figure of Cardinal Lawrence - foisted with the unenviable task of running the “conclave" - director Edward Berger immediately envisaged Ralph Fiennes. 

“As an actor, he’s so honest, earnest and full of depth. Most crucially, Ralph is able to portray a character’s inner life as well as or better than any actor I can think of,” he says of his film, which earned a total of eight Oscar nods, including a 'Best Actor' nomination for Fiennes. 

"Lawrence is a careful, thoughtful man who doesn’t always say what he feels. Instead, other people talk, he listens and it all takes place behind his eyes. That’s what makes him so compelling to watch,” says Berger, who swiftly assembled an international ensemble cast including John Lithgow, Stanley Tucci, and Sergio Castellitto.

And while Rossellini’s Sister Agnes remains largely quiet, there's a steely resolve behind those austere robes so when she does speak, she commands the attention of every cardinal in the room. “My character was very silent, but very present, observing everything. She’s not part of the brawl of men discussing who to elect. But she knows it all. She sees it all, and she's a step removed. 

“But God has given her eyes and ears, and I think that's her power,” says the daughter of celebrated Swedish actress Ingrid Bergman and Italian film director Roberto Rossellini. She was born into the spotlight, although it’s been several decades since she received this level of attention.

More than any of her co-stars, she has a keen understanding of the Roman Catholic Church and the Vatican.

“I was born in Rome, and grew up in Rome - so I am Roman and Catholic and went to Catholic School so I understood there was a very specific hierarchy. The women were silent, but not submissive. That was very clear to me,” says the actress, who recently reminded her Instagram followers how her mother had also played a nun in the 1945 movie, Bells of St. Mary.

“So, having gone to a school run by nuns, I knew that these nuns - even if they don’t speak - are very severe. The nuns had that authority and I had witnessed it. They know how to make their weight felt,” she laughs.

“And although I’ve never been part of a conclave, I was maybe a little bit more familiar than some, at least with the look of the church, the Sistine Chapel, the ritual, the authority, the secrecy, and the respect of the secrecy. So, I understood that I had to be a shadow. And shadows are always present. The shadow was my inspiration,” she says.

Likewise, Fiennes was also inspired by the prospect of lifting the veil on this secretive selection process behind the closed doors of the Vatican.

“After a lifetime spent working toward this moment, Lawrence is now the reluctant manager of a conclave rife with political tension,” explains the actor, whose performance marked his third Oscar nod.

“Instead of being in the monastery he aspires to, he is at the centre of controversy. As a man of spiritual integrity, the challenges he faces to make sure the election proceeds ethically, morally and transparently are inherently dramatic,” says the Harry Potter and James Bond star.