From architect to actor: How Vancouver's Carlos Diehz ended up in the Oscar-nominated film Conclave
Until 2023, when Conclave started production in Rome, Diehz had been in a handful of student films
As Carlos Diehz hops from event to event ahead of the 2025 Academy Awards in Los Angeles, he's reflecting on how he got there.
Not long ago, the Conclave actor, who plays Cardinal Vincent Benitez, was working for an architectural firm in Vancouver.
"This is so exciting and at the same time it's bizarre," he told CBC's The Early Edition host Stephen Quinn during an interview on Friday.
Diehz was an architect in Mexico, his home country, but his credentials have yet to be recognized in Canada, where he's lived for 16 years. He's worked at an architectural firm in Vancouver for several years but not as an actual architect.
Diehz's experience was somewhat mirrored in fellow Best Picture nominee The Brutalist, he said. The lead character, László Tóth, played by Adrian Brody, is an architect who emigrates to the U.S. in 1947.
"When you look at The Brutalist and how he has to manage the difficulties with the clients and everything, that's pretty real, that's pretty accurate," Diehz said.
Film experience
Until 2023, when Conclave started production in Rome, Diehz had been in a handful of student films.
One such film he worked on was directed by fourth-year students at North Vancouver's Capilano University, a group he praised for their professionalism.
"What I saw with the students in Capilano is exactly what I saw in Rome," he said.
"The level of precision, commitment, enthusiasm, professionalism, it was just amazing. It was just the same in a different setting."
Before that, he'd been an extra in a French movie about lucha libre wrestling, made in Mexico, when Diehz was 18.
His dreams of becoming a star were quickly dashed when he was told to curse at the top of his lungs in a scene, something he was taken aback by. His shock wasn't quite the reaction the filmmakers were looking for.
"They chose someone else," Diehz said. "I said no, screen acting is not for me."
Fast forward about 30 years, and Diehz decided to try it again after he and his wife became empty nesters. He took some online acting courses during the pandemic, got an agent and started doing auditions.
Conclave
His transition from design to film all happened quite quickly, Diehz said, when he responded to an open casting call for the role of Benitez in 2022.
Originally, he said, the casting director was looking for a Filipino actor for the role because in the book that inspired the film — Robert Harris's 2016 novel — Vincent Benitez is from the Philippines.
But when they cast Diehz, they changed the character's heritage to Mexican.
Diehz credits his acting coach for helping him land the role, and his co-stars — heavy hitters like Ralph Fiennes, John Lithgow, Stanley Tucci and Isabella Rossellini — for helping him develop his acting chops on set.
Working with Fiennes, in particular, helped guide Diehz as an actor.
"The beauty, the precision, the depth that he puts in his character," Diehz said. "You have to jump on it, on the dynamic and the emotional dynamics and let yourself be led by him."
Fiennes helped Diehz work on English pronunciation to get the audience to hang onto every single word Benitez said.
"He said, 'Be mindful of every word you deliver, it's a gift to the audience. Don't make them wonder what you said because they lose track of the message of the line.'"
Off screen, Diehz has become good friends with Lithgow.
When he was suffering from stage fright the night before shooting a scene where Benitez delivers a speech that, in some ways, defines the film, Lithgow reassured him that it was normal.
"He said, 'Well, you never really overcome the stage fright. First of all, it's a sign that you care about the scene. So that's a good thing. But be mindful that when you deliver your lines, nobody's going to cut you off ... you set the pace, you set the intention, you set the motions.'"
Conclave has had major success — it won Best Film at the British Academy Film Awards and Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture at the Screen Actors Guild Awards.
Now, the film is one of 10 nominated for Best Picture at the 2025 Academy Awards.
"It has been quite a ride from the auditions all the way to this point," Diehz said. "And right now in Los Angeles, it's been amazing. It's been incredible."
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With files from The Early Edition