‘Gladiator 2’ Proves Paul Mescal is Still a Long Way From Threatening Timothée Chalamet’s Hollywood Crown For 1 Sole Reason
- Paul Mescal in not going to be in the same ranks as Timothée Chalamet any time soon.
- Gladiator 2's international box-office debut collection is still millions behind Dune 2.
- Mescal is aware that Chalamet is a frontrunner in the Hollywood royalty race.
With its interesting storyline and stellar star cast, Gladiator 2 has the fans in a chokehold. The movie has started quite a few conversations such as the claims of historical inaccuracy and the absence of the original actors. One more thing that has got the people talking is the possibility of the rising Irish star Paul Mescal sneaking away Timothée Chalamet’s crown as Hollywood royalty.
In the past few years, both Mescal and Chalamet have presented the world with some of the best performances. This makes one wonder if the two are contemporaries or competitors or perhaps both. However, by the looks of it, the former still has a long way to go before he can be on the same level as the Wonka star.
Paul Mescal Is Not Going to Beat Timothée Chalamet to the Rising Hollywood Star Status Any Time Soon for This Reason
Paul Mescal first gained widespread recognition for his lead role in the 2020 miniseries, Normal People. Timothée Chalamet, on the other hand, had his breakthrough in 2017 with the queer romantic drama, Call Me by Your Name. At this point in time, they are both members of on-screen noble families, but that certainly does not put them in the same ranks.
Mescal has recently emerged as a member of the Roman royal family in Ridley Scott’s Gladiator sequel. The film has opened with a mighty $87 million in overseas market (via Variety). This has made it director Ridley Scott’s first film to have such a big international opening, which is a huge feat considering he has been the mastermind behind high-grossing films like The Martian and Gladiator.
On the other hand, according to Deadline, Dune 2 took the international box office by storm with a massive collection of $97 million. It has to be noted that Chalamet has been leading this Denis Villeneuve-helmed franchise since the beginning. By that measure, Mescal joined the already-established Gladiator franchise and the sequel is still behind Dune 2 by $10 million in terms of international box office collection.
Mescal and Chalamet are roughly the same age. However, they come from different geographical locations and had different opportunities when they began acting. So, it is not surprising that they are not on the same level.
Nevertheless, it seems unlikely that The Lost Daughter actor will be able to overthrow Chalamet as rising Hollywood royalty anytime soon considering the latter already has an Academy Award nomination and has done quite some big roles (Wonka, A Complete Unknown) recently.
Paul Mescal on How Timothée Chalamet Raised the Bar for Him
Chalamet got into professional acting much before Mescal. In fact, the latter had not even begun working properly when the Don’t Look Up actor had already bagged his first Academy Award nomination for Best Actor for his performance in Call Me by Your Name. In an interview with GQ, the Irish star said that he was in acting school when the film was released.
Ever humble, the brilliance of it all was not lost on Mescal and he had no hesitation whatsoever to admit that Chalamet, indeed, did a phenomenal job in the movie.
Timothée Chalamet just smashed it in that movie. He blew my mind, if I’m honest with you. I was so moved by it, it sort of shocked me. He is on another level and it just made me realise what a young actor, roughly the same age as me, could be capable of, the level I had to get up to.
He also admitted that he could see how the Interstellar actor had “raised the bar”. Rest assured, Mescal certainly knows what he is up against and is working well enough that he soon might be on the same level as Chalamet.
