He may forever be Normal People’s Connell in our hearts and he certainly isn’t hard on the eyes in Gladiator II—a role he trained relentlessly for and spent a decent portion of shirtless—but becoming Lucius in the hotly-anticipated sequel presented a rare opportunity for Paul Mescal.
With an impressive resume of highly emotion-driven roles, including Sally Rooney’s beloved TV adaptation and All Of Us Strangers, the 28-year-old has swiftly become known as the ‘internet’s boyfriend’ and an adored romantic lead.
“I feel utterly proud of everything that I’ve done before this [Gladiator II] and this included,” Paul tells marie claire Australia.
Still, stepping away from the heartthrob trope to flex his skills and push audiences’ expectations of him, was a chance he not only relished but hinted we could see more of.
“I think the dream as an actor is that you’re challenging yourself. So then you’re challenging an audience’s idea of what to expect from you,” he says.
“The more I can do that hopefully over the next couple of years—if I’m lucky enough to keep doing this—then playing with the perception of an audience ultimately is an exciting place to be.”
From fight scenes of colossal proportions to the intricate sets of ancient Rome, the scale of production was far beyond anything Paul or his co-star Fred Herchinger, who you may recognise from White Lotus, had worked on before.
“There’s nothing like a Ridley Scott movie, he works in 360,” Fred tells us, “He works with so many cameras that what’s happening is an event. It’s not broken up into little scenes and parts, it’s the entire event.”
Paul nods in agreement before adding: “What you’re seeing in the finished product is what we were seeing on a daily basis. It was crazy.”
The costume design is also a sight to behold, and while Paul has become known for his daringly short shorts, donning the gladiator mini skirt wasn’t all he or Fred expected it to be.
“I’ll talk about the short shorts,” Fred jokes as Paul blushes at their mention.
He continues, laughing: “The toga from the outset of production I thought was going to be just the greatest thing to wear…like super airy and enjoyable, but it was not.
“It was much heavier than I figured it would be…after a couple weeks in the thick of the summer,” he says with a shake of his head.
Could we see the stars lean into press tour dressing and adapt the traditional roman style for a red carpet moment?
“We’re doing matching mini skirts for the next premiere,” Paul laughs before immediately adding, “Yeah, no we’re not.”
Gladiator II is in cinemas November 14. Tickets on sale now.
