Gladiator II star Paul Mescal says he 'loved history in school'
The actor behind lead character, Lucius, was just four when the first film was released
Last updated 15th Nov 2024
Gladiator II star, Paul Mescal, is hot property at the moment. After rising to fame on hit TV show, Normal People, the Irish actor is about to star in the biggest project of his career to date. A sequel to the iconic 2000 film about the Roman Empire, Gladiator II will arrive in cinemas on 15th November.
Ahead of the epic action film's release, Paul popped in to chat to KISS Breakfast hosts, Jordan Banjo and Perri Kiely, about his love of history, his hopes for future roles — and whether there's a cast WhatsApp group...
Paul, who was just four-years-old when the first Gladiator film came out, told KISS Breakfast he was a big fan of history in school: "I had the best history teacher in secondary so history was like my favourite subject," he said.
But joked: "I wasn't sitting in history class being like 'I have a aptitude for Rome' though."
The actor behind Lucius (son of Maximus) said the costumes were "works of art" — but sometimes uncomfortable to fight in.
But he spoke of his excitement to bag the role, telling Jordan and Perri: "I think it's definitely the biggest film that I've done, but I weirdly hope that it's not my defining role. I hope that there's more in the tank and more to come. But having said all that, I'm incredibly, incredibly proud of it. To get to have a film in my filmography that's directed by Ridley Scott, it's absolutely wild.
"I think I could hand on heart say that if I don't make a bigger film than Gladiator II then that's ok, because it's a pretty big film!"
The 28-year-old took his mum, dad and sister (singer, Nell Mescal) to the Dublin premiere, but are waiting for Paul's brother to come back into town so they can watch it all together.
Paul Mescal on whether there's a Gladiator II cast group chat...
The movie boasts an all-star cast, including Remember The Titans legend Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal (Game of Thrones/Mandalorian/The Last of Us) and Connie Nielson, who stars in the 2000 film. When asked by Jordan and Perri whether there's a group chat, Paul said: "People love a WhatsApp group!
"We don't have a WhatsApp group but we're all still friends."
When will Gladiator II be released?
Gladiator II arrives in cinemas on Friday 15th November.
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