Paul Mescal is the lead of the Gladiator sequel and will have Pedro Pascal as a co-star. The Normal People actor is opening up about his first interaction with The Mandalorian star and why the Ridley Scott-directed sequel film has him “stressed.”
Mescal is set to take over the role of Lucius that Spencer Treat Clark portrayed in the original 2000 film. Ahead of Pascal’s involvement in the film, Mescal ran into the actor at LAX airport but was “too afraid” to approach him.
“He came up and just seemed so genuine,” Mescal told Esquire, in an interview conducted before the SAG-AFTRA strike. “I’m really looking forward to hanging out with him.”
Although filming for the sequel film has been halted due to the ongoing actors strike, Mescal said at the time he was nervous about not spilling any tea on what Gladiator 2 is about.
“I can’t get into that!” he told the publication. “I can’t tell you how stressed I am talking about that film in particular, because it’s definitely the biggest one I’ve done. I feel really excited, but, like, it’s difficult to get away from the legacy of the film a bit.’
He continued, “I think it’s really well written and it pays homage to the first one, but it’s very much something that I think I can step into and make comfortably my own.”
Mescal also noted he has not spoken to OG Gladiator star Russell Crowe adding, “I don’t know what we would talk about. Like, I’d love to hear his stories from filming, but the character is, like, totally separate.”