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Paul Mescal wanted to look 'big and strong' for Gladiator II

Updated / Tuesday, 2 Jul 2024 11:02
Paul Mescal speaks about his physical transformation for Ridley Scott's Gladiator II: "I just wanted to be big and strong"
Paul Mescal speaks about his physical transformation for Ridley Scott's Gladiator II: "I just wanted to be big and strong"

Paul Mescal has said the training for his leading role in director Ridley Scott's Gladiator II was focused on making him look "big and strong" rather than "an underwear model".

The Irish actor is taking on his first major Hollywood role as Lucius in the long-awaited sequel to the 2000 Oscar-winning epic starring Russell Crowe.

The sequel picks up 25 years from where the first film left off and follows Mescal's Lucius, the now-grown-up son of Lucilla, played by Connie Nelson.

In an interview with US publication Variety, the 28-year-old Maynooth native said that his preparation for the demanding role centred around fight choreography rather than workouts designed to sculpt muscle.

"I just wanted to be big and strong and look like somebody who can cause a bit of damage when s*** hits the fan," he said.

"I think also, sometimes, one could, in striving for that perfect look, end up looking more like an underwear model than a warrior."

He continued of the effect of the training regime: "Muscles start to grow, and that can be deemed aesthetic in certain capacities, but there is something about feeling strong in your body that elicits just a different feeling.

"You carry yourself differently.

"It has an impact on you psychologically in a way that is useful for the film."

Mescal's co-star Pedro Pascal, star of The Last Of Us and Narcos, plays Marcus Acacius, an antagonist to Lucius in the film.

The Chilean-American actor said he referred to Mescal as "Brick Wall Paul" due to his physical transformation for the part.

"It's brutal, man. I call him Brick Wall Paul," Pascal told Variety. "He got so strong. I would rather be thrown from a building than have to fight him again.

"To go up against somebody that fit and that talented and that much younger…. Outside of Ridley being a total genius, Paul is a big reason as to why I would put my poor body through that experience."

In addition to gaining muscle, the Oscar-nominated Aftersun star said that another aspect of his physical appearance also proved useful for the role.

He told the magazine: "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."

Director Scott revealed that he discovered Mescal when watching the actor in his breakout role as Connell Waldron in Normal People.

He said: "When I watch anything, I tend to be clocking who's interesting. It's just in my DNA. 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?’"

Scott arranged a Zoom with Mescal while the actor was performing the play A Streetcar Named Desire in London.

"I met with him and he said, 'Of course, I’d love to do it'. And that was it," Scott said. "We were away and running with the ball. He was a special find. He was absolutely perfect."

Mescal said of their first meeting: "We spoke for about 20 to 30 minutes. I wanted to get a flavour from him about what the story was going to be about, so we spent about 15 minutes talking about that, and then we spent another 10 minutes talking about the sport that I played growing up - Gaelic football.

"Maybe that was something that helped with it, in that I'm used to being physical in my body."

Gladiator won five Academy Awards in a variety of categories, including for Best Picture, and Crowe for Best Actor.

Gladiator II is set for release on 15 November, 2024.

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