First look: Pictures of Paul Mescal in Gladiator sequel have been revealed
Paul Mescal stars in the Gladiator sequel.
The first look at Paul Mescal in the long-awaited sequel to Gladiator has been unveiled.
The actor plays Lucius, the son of Russell Crowe’s love interest in the original, Lucilla. The Ridley Scott sequel is set years after Maximus Decimus Meridius met his end following a battle in the Colosseum and also features the likes of Pedro Pascal, Denzel Washington, Connie Nielsen and Joseph Quinn.
Mescal said his nose came in handy for the role, telling Vanity Fair: “My nose just is kind of Roman. So it’s useful in this context.
“The nose that I absolutely hated when I was in secondary school – and used to get ribbed for – became very, very useful when Ridley needed somebody to be in Gladiator II.”
Mescal got his break in the 2020 drama season Normal People, based on a novel of the same name by Irish author Sally Rooney, and was catapulted into stardom. He went on to feature in 2022’s Aftersun and 2023’s All of Us Strangers, alongside fellow Irishman Andrew Scott.
Scott admitted, however, that it was Normal People that put Mescal on his radar.
“When I watch anything, I tend to be clocking who’s interesting. It’s just in my DNA,” Scott told Vanity Fair.
“And so, watching a TV show that’s not really my kind of TV show almost four years ago, I said, ‘Who’s this guy?’”
The pair held a Zoom call while Mescal was performing A Streetcar Named Desire in London, where the Kildare man said he would love to be part of the project.
“And that was it,” Scott said. “We were away and running with the ball. He was a special find. He was absolutely perfect.”
The first look photos show Mescal’s Lucius washing his hands in the sand, just as Russell Crowe’s Maximus once did, as well as himself and Pascal, who plays Marcus Acacius, a Roman general said to have trained as a junior officer under Crowe’s character, drawing blood in a sword fight.
The first trailer for Gladiator II drops on July 9th and is expected to be released in November this year.
