Until then accustomed to independent productions, Paul Mescal enters the arena of Hollywood blockbusters.
It was upon discovering him in the series “Normal People” that Ridley Scott decided to entrust him with the leading role in his epic “Gladiator II”.
One more step in the rapid rise of the 28-year-old Irish actor, nominated for an Oscar for best actor at the start of the year.
His camera in hand, he could only immortalize the huge poster installed in the Shibuya district. From Tokyo to Los Angeles, via Paris, the name of Paul Mescal will remain at the top of the minds of spectators who may discover him for the first time Gladiator II. The Irish actor commands respect – and honor – in the sequel to the legendary epic, 24 years after a masterpiece that won five Oscars including best film. Until four years ago, no one had heard of the man Ridley Scott chose to succeed Russell Crowe in the arena.
From television to blockbuster
As the world goes into isolation in the spring of 2020, Paul Mescal reveals himself in a little television gem. He brings to life Connell, a slightly awkward but ultra-sensitive teenager in Normal Peoplea perfect adaptation of the novel by Sally Rooney which tells the love story as tender as it is turbulent between two Irish students. The series quickly became the most streamed program in the history of the BBC, and the public was won over. Ridley Scott too. “He reminded me of a mix of Richard Harris and a very young Albert Finney. He seemed like a very solid and likeable actor. The story of the script for Gladiator II was starting to evolve and I couldn’t stop thinking about him.”says the British filmmaker in the production notes. But who will agree to bet on a beginner to carry out a project with a budget of more than 300 million dollars?
“It was an incredible risk for a big film to cast an actor who had never worn one,” emphasizes producer Douglas Wick, speaking of a “jumping from a cliff”. “We quickly discovered that Paul is one of those unique talents who always lands on his feet.”he adds. Born in 1996 in Maynooth, near Dublin, to a policeman mother and a schoolteacher father, Paul Mescal discovered the acting profession somewhat out of obligation. At the time, his high school forced every student to audition for the school’s annual musical. His second year was The Phantom of the Opera who is chosen. “I ended up playing the ghost. It probably changed my life”he slips In Magazine (new window).
From melancholy to rage
He considered enlisting in the army for a while but ultimately decided to study theater at Trinity College, Dublin. The same place where Connell, the character who shook everything up, is written. Several pieces will follow in the Irish capital, an advertisement for a famous brand of sausages (new window) and the consecration Normal People. Much in demand, Paul Mescal initially turned to independent films where “characters don’t speak to advance the plot.” “They say what they need to say and don’t say what they don’t need to say”he notes to the Guardian (new window). With him, big monologues are superfluous anyway, his tortured face enough to get all the messages across.
Gladiator II: the trailer for Ridley Scott’s filmSource : TF1 Info
The recipe is the same in Gladiator II, where his clear eyes this time do not exude melancholy but “rage”as Macrinus insists, the rich merchant played by Denzel Washington who makes him a gladiator. “It’s a completely different role than any I’ve played. Going from an independent film to a studio blockbuster was intimidating until I realized that acting is acting, no matter the context.”he insists. “When we first met Paul, we had to ask him in all humility if he had ever played a sport, hoping to see it as a sign that he could play a gladiatorremembers producer Lucy Fisher. When he answered ‘Gaelic football’, which we know requires toughness and more than a little craziness, we knew we had our man.”
From the Oscars to Broadway
For months, the Irish actor did sports sessions and ate “lots of chicken”learns to wield a sword. At least that was necessary to face mutant monkeys, a rhino and sharks once at the Coliseum. “I knew he was a very good theater actor, which is an asset for me. Theater actors keep me honest. I tend to be very visual and move like lightning. They like know the story and the characters between each take”explains Ridley Scott who had a very hollow nose when recruiting Paul Mescal.
After his casting, the Irishman shone on the stage by taking over the role of Marlon Brando in the play A Streetcar Named Desire but also on the screens by making us cry tears in the shoes of a suffering father in After sun . The first earned him an Oliver Award, the British equivalent of Molière, the second a nomination for the Oscar for best actor at the start of the year.
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He touched our hearts as Andrew Scott’s enigmatic lover in Without ever knowing us and made us vibrate by dancing in Carmen, the reinterpretation of the famous opera by the Frenchman Benjamin Millepied. Praised by Internet users who closely follow his love life and are inflamed by his passion for mini-shorts, Paul Mescal was treated last week – like Timothée Chalamet – to his approximate lookalike competition in Dublin.
Gladiator II should mark a new turning point in the young career of someone whose schedule was already busy with four films in the pipeline. 2025 promises to be just as prolific as he will make his Broadway debut in the revival ofA Streetcar Named Desire. A star is born.
