“Gladiator II” star Paul Mescal on his relationship with fame

Walking the streets of Dublin, Paul Mescal said: “There’s a strange feeling when you land in the city – I don’t know, it just calms me down.”

The Irish actor wouldn’t get much of that calm during this stop, as he attended the Dublin premiere of ‘Gladiator II’. He was here to promote the highly anticipated film. “You enjoy it a little bit, but some of it also lasts a lifetime,” he said. “Just the format alone is something I haven’t experienced before. I just haven’t directed very many films either.”

In “Gladiator II,” he plays Lucius, who (along with the audience) learns about his connection to Russell Crowe’s character from the original 2000 blockbuster. Nearly 25 years later, director Ridley Scott is back with the sequel, out this week .

To watch a trailer for “Gladiator II,” click on the video player below:

What was it like for Mescal to be in the middle of such an epic film? “I’d say equally epic,” he replied.

The 28-year-old has already been nominated for an Oscar for playing a single father in ‘Aftersun’ and an Emmy for his role in ‘Normal People’. Critical acclaim aside, that series turned him into a Gen Z heartthrob virtually overnight.

Ridley Scott says he was so impressed with Mescal that he cast the young actor after just a 30-minute Zoom call.

“I got a phone call and they said, ‘You’re going to be in Gladiator II,’” Mescal recalls. “That is hugely life-changing news to receive.”

Is it that big? “Yes, of course,” said Mescal. “I think there’s something that goes with Ridley Scott’s legacy.”

The first “Gladiator” won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture. In this incarnation, from Paramount Pictures (a division of CBS’s parent company), Mescal stars opposite Denzel Washington.

I asked, “As an actor, do you take mental notes when you work with someone like Washington?”

“When you go back to bed at night, you think, ‘How does he do this? How does he do that?'” he replied. “Every scene I did with him was never how I expected it to go, and that’s the dream. It was very exciting to stand five feet in front of his face and watch him do that.”

Mescal has his own star power, as we saw when we witnessed a sea of ​​people following us when we met at Trinity College, where he had not long ago studied acting.

He turns out to be a special actor, at least until a recent look-alike contest. “I feel like it’s easy to make a parody of me,” he laughed.

“The shorts?”

“Yes yes yes.”

Those shorts are the uniform of his other love, Gaelic football. For ‘Gladiator II’ this athlete gained weight and gained 18 kilos of muscle mass.

I asked, “The role is so different. You often play these kind of softer, almost tortured, shy characters. It’s a big transition for you.”

“Yes, it is,” he replied. “I think when I returned to the sport I played before, there was definitely a desire to make a more physically informed choice with a character representing Lucius, the perfect opportunity for that to happen.”

‘Normal People’, his big breakthrough, was shot at his alma mater. In it, Mescal portrays the sharp, nuanced emotions of a student: fear, torment, longing. “I think it exposed an audience to me,” Mescal said. “That job allowed me to prove to people that I can act.”

The series came after he made a commercial for an Irish sausage company: “Yes, that covered my rent for the year. I was absolutely thrilled with it.”

He started acting at age 16, and a high school production of “Phantom of the Opera” changed his trajectory. “I think I’m still chasing that feeling,” he said. “Nothing has ever really come close to that feeling.”

“Your high school production ‘Phantom of the Opera’ versus ‘Gladiator II’?” I asked.

“It sounds absolutely bizarre! I think because it felt physically dangerous in my body to be exposed to an audience of people who knew me as someone who played sports. The adrenaline was extraordinary.”

According to him, his childhood was quite standard. His mother was a police officer, his father a teacher, both now retired. But he says that upbringing has helped him deal with today’s pressures.

“This is new to me,” he said gloriously.

“But you’re used to attention at this point?”

“Uh, within reason.”

On campus, this star was sometimes just as affected as the students.

As an actor, Mescal hopes to maintain some distance, some mystery, in order to be able to convincingly fulfill such varied roles. “You don’t want an audience to know you innately,” he said.

And what is his relationship with fame? “Ever-changing,” he said.

Maybe that’s because it’s all changing so quickly for him. Instead of dispersing inside during our interview, we soon discovered that the crowd had multiplied. And we were able to witness Paul Mescal in a role for which there is no rehearsal and no script.

“What the hell?” he said to the gathered hordes. “I don’t know what to say other than, hello! These are fucking bananas! I have a job interview to finish… you all have to go back to school. See you later!”

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Story produced by Mikaela Bufano. Editor: Brian Robbins.