If fiction depicts reality, then the choice of a pope can be cut. At least that’s how it’s portrayed in the new movie Conclave.

In the opening scene, the pope is dead. His room is sealed. Cardinals from around the world descend on the Vatican to sequester until they elect the next one.

Ralph Fiennes plays Thomas Lawrence, Dean of the College of Cardinals. He is responsible for managing the vote – as well as the cardinals’ strong and diverse views on the future of the church. They devise, strategize, and uncover cursed secrets during their deliberations.

“Cardinals, priests – they are human beings. He might have ambition,” Fiennes said Morning edition host A Martinez. “Where ambition becomes self-centered and self-serving is one thing; he might have the ambition to do well in the church. I think it’s okay to be ambitious about something.”

Fiennes’ Cardinal Lawrence claims he doesn’t want the papacy for himself, but is allied with Cardinal Aldo Bellini (played by Stanley Tucci), an American reformer. Bellini lobbies for the job mainly to oppose an Italian cardinal, Goffredo Tedesco (played by a scene-stealer Sergio Castellitto) which represents the conservative wing of Catholicism. His ambition is undeniable. Tedesco wants to take the church back to its pre-Vatican II days of Latin liturgies and unchallenged patriarchy.

“It’s not just about stopping Tedesco,” explains Fiennes. “It’s also about advancing the church on issues of sexual orientation, gender, women — key liberal issues.”

Ralph Fiennes grew up with his own experience in the Catholic church. “My mother was a staunch Catholic,” he says. He spent part of his youth in an all-boys Catholic school in Kilkenny, Ireland, “until I was about 13 when I rebelled. I told my mother: “I don’t want to go to Mass anymore. I don’t understand. I don’t feel that. I don’t think so.'”

However, the script for Conclave talked to him. “I’ve always carried into my adult life a real curiosity about faith — and a real interest in people who are committed to a life in the church.”

Fiennes researched his role by talking to Vatican insiders. At first, she was shy about how the work would be received. “I met some priests who were incredibly helpful,” he recalls. “They think a lot philosophically about these big questions. I haven’t met anyone who I felt got defensive about “Here’s an actor playing a cardinal.” I felt that I met open and kind people who said, “Yes, these are challenges.” They are aware and sensitive to all kinds of things related to the role of the church. I found it quite inspiring.”

Conclave opens Friday, October 25 in US theaters nationwide.

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