Interview With Actor Carlos Diehz (Conclave)

Studious is a word one might use to describe Carlos Diehz, although he would call it something else.

“I’m kind of a nerd, really,” says the 53-year-old. “When I find something I like I get really deep into it.”

Such dedication perhaps goes some way to explaining Diehz’s intriguing career trajectory, one that has taken him from three decades working as an architect in Mexico and Canada to starring opposite Ralph Fiennes in a papal thriller helmed by an Oscar-winning director.

That Diehz plays a relative newcomer in Conclave – an adaptation of Robert Harris’s twisty, Vatican drama set in the aftermath of the Pope’s death – feels rather fitting. The film, directed by Edward Berger, whose gruelling take on All Quiet on the Western Front won seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, marks Diehz’s feature debut. As mysterious newbie Cardinal Benitez, it is very much a supporting but no less impactful role, weaved into a story that delightfully straddles both pulpy airport fiction and acute political allegory.

The casting process for Benitez took three months, and by the time Diehz booked the part after several rounds of auditions and was flown to Rome – where most of the filming took place – he had put those self-proclaimed nerd tendencies to good use.

“I spent a lot of time studying the other actors, particularly Ralph [Fiennes],” he says.

“All my scenes are with him, so I watched a lot of his interviews and movies and I would pull my chair right up to the screen to look at his expressions, how he plays certain situations, the hints he gives. Even his breathing.

“So when it was just the two of us, I would not be distracted trying to find out his dynamic.

“Because so much of acting is reacting, you have to inspire confidence in the other performer and try to follow their rhythm, but you have to be as natural as possible. Ralph is a master of that.

“He told me that every word in your lines is precious. It has an intent, it was crafted to deliver the right message at the right time. So treat it as such. I’m so grateful to him for that.”

Alongside Fiennes, Conclave, the recipient of some early awards buzz, boasts a whole host of other seasoned screen talent, including John Lithgow, Stanley Tucci, Isabella Rossellini and Sergio Castellito.

By contrast, Diehz might be considered something of an apprentice. Growing up in a suburb of Mexico City, he enjoyed the arts but was hesitant to perform. He started to act while at high school, working as a background performer in his teens but only began pursuing the craft in a serious way in 2020. Prior to landing Conclave, his appearances had been limited to short films and student projects.

But the quinquagenarian, meticulously dressed and softly spoken – he was once removed as an extra on a French production after turning down the offer to scream insults during a scene – has another kind of experience to bring to the table: life.

Spending such a significant portion of his outside the world of acting has, Diehz believes, equipped him with a greater range of experiences to draw from.

“They say that youth is a defect that gets corrected with age,” he says with a smile.

“When you are young you don’t have these experiences, like playing someone who has gone through divorce and you haven’t experienced that. You have to be very observant, you need to have a notion of what it is like.

“Having worked for years in architecture and construction, sometimes in leadership positions, it gives you the experience and courage to stand up in front of an audience and deliver bad news in a way that maintains the trust of your clients.

“There is no second take, no rehearsal, no script, you have to improvise and drive these situations to a good ending.

“Sometimes it goes wrong. But you have to deal with the consequences and keep moving on.

“So architecture is like acting in a lot of ways. I wouldn’t say it makes it easier, but I think it means you have a larger range of real-life emotions and experiences to pick from.”

In its examination of political friction and conflicting ideologies, Conclave serves as both a timeless and timely examination of power’s ability to corrupt, but also a study of how, in spite of power, some remain loyal to their ideals.

“You are who you are, it’s what you do about it. That’s what matters” as Diehz puts it.

And in Benitez, Diehz found someone he immediately resonated with. Many of the character’s values, Diehz reveals, align with those of his younger self.

“When I was 19 years old I had a mystical phase in my life,” he says.

“I found God after an existential crisis and I was so excited. I got really deep into faith and spirituality. That’s how I learned about people like Saint Francis of Assisi.

“He refused all the luxury and privilege from his family to help the poor. I wanted to be like that.

“Then life happened, but when this character came along I felt as though I was playing someone that I wanted to be at one point in my life.

“Ok, I’m not as deep, spiritual or peaceful as Benitez but it was a good reminder of what I could be.

“And that was very rewarding. Benitez is one of those characters worth taking home with you.”

Home, it seems, plays an important part in Diehz’s life. While he is happy to ride the crest of the Conclave wave for a while longer – an experience he admits has been “surreal” – he seems equally content embracing life’s more simple pleasures, be it painting or karaoke in his living room.

“I mostly sing songs from the 1980s,” he adds. “I really love Sweet Child O’ Mine by Guns N’ Roses. It’s incredible.”

One can only assume he knows every word. Studious indeed.

CONCLAVE is in UK cinemas from November 29

You can find Chris Connor’s four-star review of Conclave for Movie Marker HERE