Conclave screenwriter Peter Straughan has specified the actors that were originally in line for the lead role instead of Ralph Fiennes.
The critically acclaimed drama, based on Robert Harris's 2016 novel of the same name, follows Cardinal Thomas Lawrence (Fiennes) as he organises the conclave to elect the next pope, with the figure discovering that several leading candidates harbour secrets.
Also starring John Lithgow and Stanley Tucci, Edward Berger's film received widespread praise upon its release last year, with the drama winning the Best Film award - as well as three others - at the 78th BAFTAs.
Straughan, who took home the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for his work, revealed at the Hay Festival (via The Independent) that Fiennes - who was nominated for various awards for his performance - was not the initial choice to play Cardinal Lawrence.
"For quite a long time Robert De Niro was supposed to play the character, but that fell through, and then Javier Bardem was supposed to do it," shared Straughan, who has also garnered acclaim for his work on Wolf Hall and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.
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"And so it went on and on and on. Until eventually Edward Berger came on board – this was before All Quiet on the Western Front, otherwise we couldn’t have afforded him [Fiennes] actually."
Straughan explained that Fiennes's casting necessitated one of the key changes from the novel, with the central character - of Italian nationality in the original story - being adapted into an Englishman as Berger wanted actors to portray characters from their own country.
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"I got a call from the producer and we went for lunch and they said, 'We want to change the nationality of the cardinal because Ralph Fiennes would play an Englishman,'" recalled Straughan.
"I looked across the table and thought, 'do I really want to lose Ralph Fiennes?' And of course, it doesn’t make any difference at all, so it works that way," added the writer, who also won the BAFTA Award for his screenplay.
Conclave is available on Blu-ray, DVD and streaming via Prime Video.
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Reporter, Digital Spy George is a freelance writer who specialises in Movies and TV. After graduating with a degree in Film Studies and Journalism from De Montfort University, in which he analysed the early works of Richard Linklater for his dissertation, he wrote for several websites for GRV Media. His film tastes vary from blockbusters like Mission: Impossible and John Wick to international directors such as Paolo Sorrentino and Hirokazu Kore-eda, and has attended both the London and Berlin film festivals.
