The Two Popesis earning him serious Oscar buzz.
Is the other shoe about to drop?
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Jonathan Pryce was shooting a scene for the FX pilotGoing Hollywoodwhen he found himself completely unraveling.
He couldnt remember his lines, or handle any of the props.
He was a wreck: nervous, vulnerable, angry with himself.
The reason for this utter disaster?
Someone had given him the worst thing in the world: a compliment.
The encounter left Pryce with a fatal bout of self-consciousness.
And it was all from this guy saying, People think youre wonderful.
If Im comfortable, I cant do it.
Over his five decades in the profession, Pryce has toed the line between movie star and character actor.
I see it as a kind of good luck, a little talisman, he says, chuckling.
I keep dying in fiction, so in life Im okay.
It is not a spoiler to say that Pryce survives his latest project.
Like Pryce, the film sneaks up on you.
Its the kind of movie you relax into, like a comfortable chair.
Its currently enjoying a brief theatrical run before heading to Netflix on December 20.
(If he manages an Oscar nomination, it will be the first of his long career.)
Like Bergoglio, he takes pride in getting out into the world.
Unlike the Pope, he considers himself to have precisely the right level of fame.
We shoo them out.
So much for my nice openness to other people, says Pryce, who enjoys affecting a mock-theatrical self-importance.
Get the fuck out of here, cant you see Im talking about myself?
This was the only side of the character Pryce was aware of before signing on.
Of course, I hadnt seen the twist coming, he laughs.
The following season, the High Sparrow revealed himself to be a monster homophobic, cruel, despotic.
If it had started with season six, I might not have done the role.
When it comes to the fruit of populist rage, we dont exactly get to pick.
I asked, Did you like him?
He said no, Pryce recalled.
He said he was very strict and authoritarian.
They knew him as the man who never smiled.
Obviously, he must have felt redeemed.
At last he could be the person he wanted to be.
He had the power, if he used it, to do the good that he needed to do.
The Two Popesarrives in a fraught moment for redemption.
Recently the culture has seen a greater focus on accountability, on not letting past wrongs go unaddressed.
Most of us can agree that this is a good thing.
Much of the films drama centers on the guilt both men are carrying for sins in their pasts.
Francis has been accused ofvarious degrees of complicitywith the military dictatorship that ruled Argentina from 1976 to 1983.
(He denies it, but Pryce notes that since his elevationhe has not been back.)
How do you square the values of accountability and forgiveness?
The short answer is, life is too short not to forgive, Pryce says.
Forgiveness will cleanse you.
He has felt this lesson harder than most.
Pryces father, Isaac, was the kind of guy that everyone in their village knew.
Initially the assault did not seem fatal, but that night, Isaac had a stroke.
He never recovered, and died two years later.
In the decades since, Pryce has spoken frequently of unresolved issues relating to his fathers killing.
He says that he has been able to let go of any rage toward the person responsible.
I didnt ever say to myself,I forgive this boy.
But I didnt pursue him, or the anger.
Still, he has not forgotten the boy.
I carried that all the way through, he says.
I would give myself to someone and think,This is going to end badly.
I worry about this film, Pryce says.
I always think thats round the corner.
Hes lived it once before, in another phase of his career.
He won the Tony too.
This is not a topic Pryce relishes revisiting.
(The ghost of Charlotte Ramplingmust haunt every actor on the trail.)
ConsiderThe Two Popesitself, in which a German and an Argentine are played by two blokes from Wales.
Pryce agrees, but before we can dig in further, his publicist appears.
Weve gone over time, theres room for one more question.
In our discussion about forgiveness, he mentioned how the passage of years brings a new perspective.
What does he see differently now?
I feel anger, but my physical outbursts of anger have decreased, Pryce says.
Maybe I havent got the energy any more.
Then, with a hearty laugh, that roaring voice returns: So you might fuck off!
