close
close
trip

To tackle ‘Gladiator II’, Paul Mescal had to quiet the ‘demons in my head’

Paul Mescal is the first to admit that it is very stressful when a film he has worked on is finally shown to the public. But when Gladiator II, the sequel Ridley Scott‘s beloved 2000 film finally opens, it will be a much more intense level of stress. “This is a little bit exacerbated by the fact that there was a 24-year lead-up period before this story was told,” says the actor. Little golden men. “To be an ambassador for that legacy, you’re trying to push back on imposter syndrome at the rate of knots.”

Mescal, known for his breakout role in the Hulu series Normal people and his Oscar-nominated work Nazon, opens a new chapter with Gladiator II, he takes on his first blockbuster role after a string of indies. Considered one of the most exciting emerging talents in Hollywood, Mescal is now proving he can command a tentpole and handle the physical and emotional demands of playing Lucius, the son of Russel Crowe‘s Maximus.

The film, which hits theaters on November 22, follows Mescal’s character as he is forced to enter the Colosseum and fight for his life. Directed by Scott, Gladiator II brings back to life much of what worked in the original film, from the epic battle scenes to the evil Roman leaders, while introducing audiences to a new hero.

The day after a glitzy premiere in Los Angeles, Mescal spoke with Little golden men on the weight of carrying this ambitious new film, the sage advice he received from his director and why he’s been working at such an intense pace since wrapping Normal people.

Vanity Scholarship: When you introduced the film on stage, you said that this film “completely changed my life.” How so?

Paul Mescal: It has changed the mechanics of my life. Ridley, when he wanted me to do it, I assume – I didn’t even talk to him about it – he would have had to fight for me, because I don’t have box office records. There’s a real generosity and a bullishness that he has with his taste, and I’m very happy that I was to his taste. But it’s not lost on me that if this movie does well, which I hope – and I think it will do well – being in a big studio tentpole movie just changes your life, and gives you certain opportunities. And that’s up to Ridley and essentially no one else.

The last time I interviewed you, you talked about how you love India and how you would love it forever. Now you’re doing this giant tentpole sequel. Why did you say, “I’m ready”?

It’s hard to describe, I think. I’m not really interested in making a big movie that I can’t see an opportunity to be in. That’s a matter of taste. It’s completely subjective. After watching the first one, and knowing that Ridley was going to be involved, and that he was describing the arc of the story to me, I thought, “This is the perfect opportunity for me.” Because it wasn’t that I didn’t want to make big films. I just didn’t feel like making big films that, in my opinion, didn’t have the content I wanted to spend my time on. This had both things.

Did you rewatch the original film after you were cast?

I’d say I saw it about three or four times growing up. Once I was cast, I thought I’d put this to bed until I finished the movie. I watched it again recently, and it’s just extraordinary. But I did something similar when I got thrown in A tram called Desire. I thought, “I’m not going to watch this because it’s not useful to me right now.”

It would loom large, I suppose.

I think it would actually be strangely negligent to the film you’re making, because it’s not your job to try to recreate. You’re trying to create – you’re trying to build something new and authentic. Of course it is informed by the first because of the lineage and inheritance, but that is in the writing.

Related Articles

Back to top button