People Ralph Fiennes didn't originally want to be a movie star

British actor Ralph Fiennes has been one of the most sought-after character actors in cinema for years ("Grand Budapest Hotel", "James Bond - Spectre"). He did not have a film career in mind when he took on his first roles in the theater as a young man.

"Shakespeare in the theater was the reason I wanted to become an actor," Fiennes (61) told the German news agency DPA in London. "I didn't foresee a life as a film actor. That wasn't one of my ambitions."

Full of praise for director Berger

In the Vatican thriller "Conclave", which is based on the novel of the same name by Robert Harris, Fiennes plays a cardinal who has to organize the papal election while going through a crisis of faith himself. "Conclave" is a chamber play that almost has elements of Shakespeare. "But not for a minute did it feel like theater," emphasized Fiennes. "This is pure cinema." Fiennes praised director Edward Berger for this. The filmmaker, who was born in Wolfsburg, Germany, has "a sense for cinema".

The difference to the stage is what makes the film business so interesting, says Fiennes. The fact that the Sistine Chapel and other sets were authentically recreated in the famous Cinecittà studios in Rome suited Fiennes. "When you come to the film set, you don't want to feel like you're in the theater," he said. "You want to feel like you're in a real world and you're being filmed."

SDA