Sir Jonathan Pryce, who was Oscar-nominated for playing Pope Francis, has said he is “encouraged” by the late pontiff’s closeness with Pope Leo XIV.
The new Pope, formerly Cardinal Robert Prevost, from Chicago, became the first North American head of the Catholic Church after he was elected during the secret conclave meeting of cardinals on Thursday.
On the red carpet of the Bafta TV awards in London on Sunday, Sir Jonathan told the PA news agency: “I watched the announcement of the Pope and I found it personally very moving, because I was also thinking back to my time playing Pope Francis.
“I was a huge admirer of Pope Francis, and I was encouraged when Leo, Pope Leo, referenced Francis and referenced things that Francis had said about building bridges and not walls.
“So, I was very encouraged by it and also encouraged knowing that I think he was Francis’s man. Francis had promoted him to the Vatican and he seems like a good guy.”
In 2019 movie The Two Popes, Pope Benedict XVI is played by Hannibal actor Sir Anthony Hopkins, while Sir Jonathan plays the future liberal pope.
It dramatises how the first pontiff to resign in centuries, Benedict, encourages Francis to go for the top job, as the two men discuss topics ranging from faith to football and food.
Both actors received Oscar nods, with Sir Jonathan taking home a Cymru Bafta.
On Sunday, Sir Jonathan is up for a best supporting actor for playing a retired spy in Apple TV+ thriller Slow Horses and will compete against his Wolf Hall: The Mirror And The Light co-star Damian Lewis.
Sir Jonathan played another religious figure, Cardinal Wolsey, in the Wolf Hall series that tells the story of the rise of King Henry VIII’s (Lewis) adviser Thomas Cromwell (Sir Mark Rylance).
Pope Leo will have the challenge of following in the footsteps of the late Francis, whose popularity saw him dubbed “the people’s pope”.
However, he is a strong advocate of migrants and those who are marginalised, similar to Francis.
The Bafta TV Awards will air on BBC One at 7pm.
