Irish actor Paul Mescal has shared that he landed a role in Gladiator II after just a 30-minute Zoom call.
Mescal discussed this on The Graham Norton Show, airing on BBC One this Friday. The 28-year-old will star alongside Denzel Washington in the sequel to Ridley Scott’s original Gladiator, which is set to be released 24 years after the first film.
This marks Mescal’s first major Hollywood role following his breakout in the 2020 BBC adaptation of Sally Rooney’s Normal People.
Speaking about how he got the part, Mescal told Norton: “Ridley is very efficient – I thought there would be screen tests and auditions, but we had a half-hour Zoom call, talked about the role for 10 minutes, and then spent 20 minutes chatting about Gaelic football, his dog, and his wife.
“I expected more, but a few weeks later he called to offer me the role. I think he trusts his instincts both on and off set, and I’m glad it worked out that way.”
Following his role in Normal People, Mescal appeared in The Lost Daughter alongside Olivia Colman, God’s Creatures with Emily Watson, and received praise for his performance in the father-daughter drama Aftersun.
The original Gladiator was a massive success in 2000, earning $460 million worldwide and winning five Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Russell Crowe.
Talk of a sequel or prequel began in 2001 but was put on hold. Scott mentioned that Crowe expressed interest in returning, even though his character was deceased, with hopes of introducing a fantastical element in the follow-up.
Mescal portrays the grandson of Richard Harris’s Emperor Marcus Aurelius from the first film, who was murdered by his son Commodus, played by Joaquin Phoenix. Crowe’s character also met his demise at the hands of Phoenix’s character in the original film.
Crowe has expressed reservations about a sequel in which he is not involved. In an interview on the US podcast Kyle Meredith With …, Crowe stated: “I’m somewhat uneasy about the fact that they’re making another one, you know? Because obviously, I’m deceased and I have no say in what happens.
“A couple of things that I’ve heard, I’m like: ‘No, no, no. That’s not in line with the moral journey of that particular character.’ But you know, I can’t say anything. That’s not my place. I’m six feet under. So we’ll see how it turns out.”