Scene: The opulent Vatican office. The Young Pope sits behind his desk, his piercing gaze fixed on Daniel Radcliffe, who fidgets slightly in his chair.
The Young Pope: (leaning back, steepling his fingers) Mr. Radcliffe, I watched Imperium last night. A fascinating performance. You’ve mastered the art of inhabiting a character, haven’t you?
Daniel Radcliffe: (smiling nervously) Thank you, Your Holiness. It was a challenging role, but one I felt was important. Exposing the dangers of white supremacy, you know?
The Young Pope: (leaning forward, tone sharp) Exposing, yes. But did you consider what might be… rekindled?
Daniel Radcliffe: (frowning) Rekindled?
The Young Pope: (gesturing vaguely) The minds of the lost are like dry tinder, Mr. Radcliffe. You infiltrated their world, embodied their rage, their symbols, their language. And in doing so, you became… convincing. Too convincing.
Daniel Radcliffe: (defensive) That wasn’t the intention. The film was meant to show the ugliness of that ideology, to make people think.
The Young Pope: (smirking) Think, yes. And yet, here we are. Reports are reaching me of young men in Craig Cobbsville—wherever that forsaken place is—discussing your performance with reverence.
Daniel Radcliffe: (aghast) Reverence?
The Young Pope: (nodding solemnly) They’ve turned your performance into a rallying cry. “A thousand years in Craig Cobbsville,” they say. A utopia, apparently. A dystopia, in truth.
Daniel Radcliffe: (shaking his head) That’s… that’s insane.
The Young Pope: (leaning in, voice dropping) Insanity, Mr. Radcliffe, is not as distant from reality as we like to believe. You tried to unmask them, but in their twisted minds, you’ve become a prophet.
Daniel Radcliffe: (defiantly) But, I am the chosen one!
The Young Pope: (raising an eyebrow, amused) Chosen for what, exactly? To lead them to their own destruction?
Daniel Radcliffe: (insistent) No, I mean—I was chosen to fight hate, to expose it!
The Young Pope: (leaning back) And yet, they follow you now, don’t they? Not as a man who exposed their hate, but as one who embodied it.
Daniel Radcliffe: (desperately) But, I am the chosen one!
The Young Pope: (smiling faintly) So you keep saying. But chosen by whom? God? Fate? Or the algorithm of modern media, which cares only for the loudest, most provocative voices?
Daniel Radcliffe: (frustrated) I was chosen by my convictions! By the need to do what’s right!
The Young Pope: (with a sly grin) Convictions are admirable, Mr. Radcliffe. But as you’ve seen, even the chosen one can be misinterpreted.
Daniel Radcliffe: (firmly) But, I am the chosen one!
The Young Pope: (with mock gravitas) Then act like it.
Daniel Radcliffe: (blinking) What?
The Young Pope: (standing, towering over him) You’ve declared yourself the chosen one, Mr. Radcliffe. Then embrace the burden. Go to Craig Cobbsville. Speak to these people. Show them the truth. Prove that the chosen one can lead not just with words, but with action.
Daniel Radcliffe: (hesitating) But what if I fail?
The Young Pope: (placing a hand on his shoulder) Then you will have failed as the chosen one. But at least you’ll have tried. And in the eyes of God, that may be enough.
Daniel Radcliffe: (nodding slowly) I’ll do it.
The Young Pope: (smiling enigmatically) Good. And remember, Mr. Radcliffe, the chosen one is not defined by their title, but by their deeds.
Daniel Radcliffe: (quietly, to himself) But I am the chosen one…
The Young Pope: (chuckling as he turns away) So you keep saying.