ROME, FEB. 10, 2002 (Zenit.org).- Ed Asner made an impression Friday when he appeared in a film studio dressed in white, looking a lot like the “good Pope.”
The American actor, 72, is now appearing in an Italian Lux Vide television series on Pope John XXIII, which will be transmitted abroad.
“It is not easy to reconcile a view of the personality with historical data,” explained artistic director Francesco Scardamaglia at a press conference. “However, thanks to a mountain of documents and an interview with Monsignor Loris Capovilla, who was Pope Angelo Roncalli´s secretary, we have been able to keep to reality, without any poetic license.”
We want to give a picture of the Pope exactly as he was: a simple, highly cultured man, with an extraordinary way of relating to others.”
Asner told journalists: “The world knows John XXIII and considers him a saint. The difficulty for me was to understand how I could interpret a saint; but I feel happy, because I don´t think we could have done better.”
He added: “While doing the film, I tried to understand if he was ever afflicted by feelings such as the ones all of us human beings experience: such as anger or envy. But I think that throughout his life he never abandoned the holiness that the world sees in him.”
Asked about his own faith, Asner replied: “I was born a Jew and I identify with the Jewish people. And I believe in miracles; I know they exist although I don´t know why.”
