Best known for his performance in Normal People and Aftersun, actor Paul Mescal recently revealed in an interview that he was made a part of director Ridley Scott’s upcoming epic historical action film Gladiator II following a 30-minute Zoom call.
Speaking on The Graham Norton Show, the actor said, “Ridley does not waste time – I thought there would be camera tests and auditions, but we Zoomed for half an hour, spoke for 10 mins about the part and then 20 minutes about Gaelic football, his dog and his wife. I thought there would be more, but he called a few weeks later to offer me the part. I think he just goes by instinct on set and off and I’m very glad that’s the way it went.”
A sequel to the 2000 historical epic film Gladiator – which featured Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Oliver Reed, Derek Jacobi, Djimon Hounsou and Richard Harris in the lead – Gladiator II is slated to be released in the UK on November 15, followed by the US on November 22. Meanwhile, Gladiator III is already in the works. Apart from Paul, Gladiator II also stars Pedro Pascal, Connie Nielsen and Denzel Washington.
Commenting on the sequel that does not feature him, Russell reportedly said on a podcast, “I’m slightly uncomfortable, the fact that they’re making another one, you know? Because of course, I’m dead, and I have no say in what gets done.”
Gladiator II marks the Irish actor’s first major Hollywood outing after his breakout performance in directors Lenny Abrahamson and Hettie Macdonald’s 2020 BBC adaptation of Sally Rooney’s novel Normal People. The romantic psychological drama miniseries also starred Daisy Edgar-Jones. Paul’s work was also appreciated in Charlotte Wells’ feature directorial debut Aftersun. Released in 2022, the semi-autobiographical, coming-of-age drama’s lead cast also included Frankie Corio, and Celia Rowlson-Hall. The Lost Daughter, God’s Creatures, All of Us Strangers are among the stage and screen actor’s other noted works.
