Paul Mescal only needed thirty minutes to convince Ridley Scott to cast him in Gladiator 2.
The filmmaker became a fan of the young actor after seeing him in the series “Normal People” and it actually took very little for him to decide that he would play the lead role in this sequel.
Paul told Vanity Fair: “We talked for 20 or 30 minutes. I wanted him to give me an idea of the plot, so we spent about 15 minutes talking about that, and then we spent another 10 minutes talking about the sport I played growing up – Gaelic football. I remember two or three weeks later the offer came through.”
Paul will play Lucius – the son of Lucilla, played by Connie Nielsen – in the “Gladiator” sequel, which will see him living as a young adult in the Numidia region of North Africa, where he was sent by his mother as a child because it was just outside the reach of the Roman Empire.
Lucius is then brought back to Rome as a gladiator, where he makes new enemies and reunites with his mother.
Paul explained why he thought the role suited him: “My nose is sort of Roman, so it’s useful in this context. The nose that I hated when I was in high school – and was made fun of for – became very, very useful when Ridley needed someone for this movie.”
Pedro Pascal will also star in “Gladiator 2,” which is scheduled for release in fall 2024.
