Paul Mescal got ‘Gladiator II’ role after 30-minute Zoom call

Paul Mescal has revealed that he landed his role for Gladiator II after a 30-minute Zoom call with director Ridley Scott.

The actor made the comments on the latest episode of The Graham Norton Show, which will air on BBC One tonight (October 25).

In the upcoming sequel, Mescal plays the grandson of Richard Harris’s Emperor Marcus Aurelius from the original film, who was killed by his son Commodus, played by Joaquin Phoenix.

On how he landed the role, Mescal told Norton: “Ridley does not waste time – I thought there would be camera tests and auditions, but we Zoomed for half an hour, spoke for 10 mins about the part and then 20 minutes about Gaelic football, his dog and his wife.

“I thought there would be more, but he called a few weeks later to offer me the part. I think he just goes by instinct on set and off and I’m very glad that’s the way it went.”

The 28-year-old stars alongside Denzel Washington, who also appeared on Norton’s show. Other cast members include Pedro Pascal and Joseph Quinn.

Scott’s original blockbuster was released in 2000 and starred Russell Crowe as Maximus Decimus Meridius, a Roman general who sets out to exact revenge on the corrupt Emperor Commodus, who murdered his family and enslaved him.

Earlier this month, Mescal revealed that he didn’t ask Crowe for advice before filming Gladiator II, admitting: “I wouldn’t know what to say. I think it’s also a mistake when people go, ‘This was Russell’s thing’. Russell had proven himself time and time again. And he proved himself time and time again after Gladiator. An amazing career like Russell has had wasn’t built by just Gladiator.”

The first screening of Gladiator II recently took place in Los Angeles in front of an audience of AMPAS and SAG voters yesterday, and the reaction was overwhelming positive.

“Apes! Sharks! Syphilitic emperors! ‘Gladiator II’ is some absolute sicko shit and Denzel Washington is relishing every. single. minute,” wrote The LA Times’ Matt Brennan. “The ‘we are so back’ of bloody costume epics.”

“#GladiatorII is the perfect continuation of the original & an epic story in its own right,” added journalist Caitlin Tyrell. “A fantastic cast, but Pedro Pascal, Denzel Washington, & Paul Mescal are transcendent! Countless intense blood soaked fight sequences! @GladiatorMovie demands to be seen on the big screen!

Gladiator II hits cinemas on November 15 in the UK. In the US, it will arrive on November 22, the same day as Wicked.

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