Vancouver actor Carlos Diehz’s big break comes in Ralph Fiennes film (2024)

After Carlos Diehz’s last child moved out, he decided to try something new.

“Acting is a thing I wanted to do since I was in high school,” said Diehz, who moved to Canada from Mexico City 15 years ago and has called Vancouver home for the last 11 years. “But in high school I was too shy to get into the drama club. So, I postponed, and now 30 years later and now an empty-nester, I decided I wanted to learn to do something new.”

The 53-year-old began that acting quest in 2020 just as COVID-19 hit. Online acting workshops, auditions and a couple of small student short film roles later, Diehz, an architect by trade, can now be seen in a pivotal role in the new major film Conclave, starring Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow and Isabella Rossellini.

Based on the novel by Robert Harris, the film, which opens in theatres Oct. 25, is a present-day papal thriller that tells the story of the election of a new Pope. Diehz plays a Mexican cardinal named Benitez.

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The journey to that role began with his agent spotting an open casting call and submitting Diehz’s tape. Long story short, in fall 2022 Diehz ended up talking with the film’s director and co-writer, Edward Berger (All Quiet on the Western Front).

“He wanted to hear from me what I had in mind for the character,” said Diehz, adding he explained to Berger that he saw Benitez as “a very pious man.”

“If he was a missionary, then an archbishop, then a cardinal, he has what it takes to lead a group. To be at the front,” said Diehz. “I discussed these ideas with Edward, and he liked them.”

Eventually, Diehz made the final callback and was brought to Rome to meet with casting director Nina Gold (The Crown, Slow Horses, Star Wars and Game of Thrones).

“She’s a big deal worldwide,” said Diehz about Gold. “So, no pressure, right?”

Diehz then read with Gold while Berger filmed it. In early December 2022, it became official that he would play Benitez.

The film began production in Rome in January 2023. While touring the Sistine Chapel set at Rome’s famed Cinecitta Studios, Diehz met Fiennes who plays Cardinal Lawrence, the man who has been tasked to lead the conclave — the assembly of cardinals — for the election of a new Pope.

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“Ralph is a shy person, a kind of introvert,” said Diehz.

While he was onset, Diehz said he noticed Fiennes was watching him. Finally, Fiennes approached and said: “Now I know why they chose you. You are Benitez,” Diehz recalls the English actor saying to him. “He saw in me the personality of the character.”

Diehz was raised Catholic and understood the basics of the conclave process, but admitted the weight of the subject matter really hit home when he donned the heavy cardinal costume.

“When you look at yourself in the mirror dressed up like that, like someone that grand within the church, it is like an extra boost emotionally to perform,” said Diehz.

“Now I see Benitez the way he is in this situation. Benitez is a missionary who mostly dresses like any other civilian in his daily life, but here he has to dress the part. He has to look like the rank he has been given. So, being able to look at myself like that is kind of a strange situation. But very empowering.”

What was also empowering was the wealth of talent and experience he was surrounded with for his very first feature film role. His castmates were open to discussions and offered him excellent advice.

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Fiennes, for instance, spoke to him about the importance of truly being heard.

“He said, ‘OK, every word you say is precious. And you have to deliver it as such. You have to put the time in, the correct enunciations, so the audience understands and is not wondering what you said … Treat every word as precious. So, I did that,” said Diehz. “The next day, when we were shooting the scene, every break we had I was rehearsing my enunciation, and I heard Ralph from another part of the area, he just said, ‘Bravo, you nailed it.'”

Later in shooting, Diehz faced a crisis of confidence as he prepared for a pivotal scene in which Benitez makes a speech in front of the 100-plus cardinals. This time, it was Lithgow who offered guidance.

“He asked me what are the main issues I wanted to talk about? And I said stage fright,” said Diehz. “He said stage fright really never goes away. You just learn how to manage stage fright. One of the things is when you feel it, it is a sign that you care about the scene. And that’s good.

“But what must guide you, drive you, is to know that when you speak there is no reason to hurry your lines. There’s no reason to feel rushed in any way because you control the scene. No one is cutting you off. Nobody is going to rush you. When they call ‘action,’ until you finish your lines, you own the scene. You set the pace and the tone. So that was very empowering, very powerful stuff.”

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But despite Lithgow’s words of encouragement, Diehz said his nerves were still front and centre when it was time to shoot the speech.

“Edward Berger approached me and said, ‘You doing OK? I said, ‘Yeah, yeah I’m fine.’ And he said, ‘I can hear your heartbeat on the microphone,’ ” said Diehz. “So I was, ‘OK, big breath, calm down, calm down, calm down.’ And little by little, I did.”

While filming scenes caused his blood pressure to rise, Diehz says the evenings were made up of many wonderfully relaxing dinners of fabulous traditional Italian food alongside his very famous castmates.

And no, Tucci didn’t cook.

“You know what, that is a common question,” said Diehz when asked about his foodie co-star. “Being at a table with Ralph, Stanley, John, Isabella and talking about wine, cheeses, bread, it was wonderful. You could make a documentary of each of those dinners we had together,” said Diehz, who explained it was Rossellini who offered much of the insight into the nuances of Italian food.

Aside from the culinary splendours in front of them, Diehz said dinner table conversations leaned toward daily life and personal histories. And, in Diehz’s case, his extraordinarily quick road to Rome and a major motion picture.

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“I remember Stanley asked me, ‘Are you really, after all this, going back to your daily job?’ Well, yeah, that’s what I have,” said Diehz, who continues to work for a Vancouver architectural firm. “But I’m not quitting acting. I’m going for more.”

Dgee@postmedia.com

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