Robert Francis Prevost was ready to become Pope Leo XIV.
After the Chicago native was elected, his brother John Prevost detailed their final conversation before he was sequestered with 132 other cardinals—which included the burning question of whether the new pope had seen Conclave starring Ralph Fiennes and Stanley Tucci.
“I said, ‘Did you watch the movie Conclave so you know how to behave?’ John explained in an interview with NBC Chicago. “And, he had just finished watching the movie Conclave. So, he knew how to behave.”
John also detailed how else he distracted his brother from the life-changing event.
“I wanted to take his mind off of it,” he added. “You know, laugh about something because this is now an awesome responsibility.”
Indeed, the retired educator said he and his brother have a regular routine when it comes to their phone calls.
“First we do Wordle,” he recalled. “Then we do Words With Friends. It’s something to keep his mind off life and the real world. And then we talk about what’s going on. I said, ‘Well do you have your red socks?’ That doesn’t go over well all the time. And then just that kind of stuff.”
Following his brother’s election, though, John wasn’t sure how their contact would continue, given Robert’s new responsibilities. However, he did give insight into how he expected his brother to lead the Catholic faith.
“The best way I could describe him right now is that he will be following in Francis’ footsteps,” he told the New York Times. “They were very good friends. They knew each other before he was pope, before my brother even was bishop.”
He also described his brother’s policies as “middle of the road.”
“I don’t think we’ll see extremes either way,” he explained. “How far he’ll go with it is only one’s guess, but he won’t just sit back. I don’t think he’ll be the silent one.”
Conclave isn’t the only film that had depicted popes, keep reading for more Hollywood pontiffs…
(E! News and NBC Chicago are part of the NBCUniversal family.)
Jude Law
The Holiday star portrayed the fictional, upstart Pope Pius XIII on the TV series The Young Pope.
Anthony Hopkins
The Silence of the Lambs actor portrayed Pope Benedict XVI in the 2019 biographical film The Two Popes.
Jonathan Pryce
The Slow Horses star played opposite Anthony as Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the future Pope Francis.
Robbie Coltrane
The Harry Potter actor played fictional Father Albinizi who accidentally is elected Pope in 1991’s The Pope Must Die.
Jon Voight
InPope John Paul II, the National Treasure alum played the titular pope.
Cary Elwes
The Princess Bride actor played the younger version of Jon’s Pope John Paul II.
Piotr Adamczyk
The Polish actor portrayed the future Pope John Paul II in the TV series Karol: A Man Who Became Pope.
