Paul Mescal Was So Nervous on 1st Day of Gladiator 2 With Denzel Washington That He Did a Very Non-Warrior Like Thing

Directed by Ridley Scott, Gladiator II, starring Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Connie Nielsen, Denzel Washington, and more, is one of the most anticipated movies 2024. The story follows the former heir to the Roman Empire and son of Maximus, Lucius, who becomes a gladiator after his home is invaded by a Roman army led by General Marcus Acacius.

According to the filmmaker’s recent interview, several attempts had been made to write the script for the sequel, but many writers were afraid to take it on. David Scarpa took on the role to write what the audience will be watching on-screen very soon. Ahead of the release, Paul Mescal, however, shares his first encounter with legendary actor Denzel Washington on set.

Paul Mescal reveals the first thing Denzel Washington said to him on the Gladiator II set

Actor Paul Mescal, who is gearing up for the release of his hotly anticipated movie Gladiator II opposite Pedro Pascal, appeared on The Graham Norton Show (via Film Updates) alongside Denzel Washington, Eddie Redmayne, and Saorire Ronan. Washington played Macrinus in the film, who is a former slave and now wants to use Mescal’s Lucius in his plot to control Rome.

The legendary actor describes his character as someone who wants to be Emperor and is willing to do whatever it takes to get there. During the interview, Mescal shared an incident from the initial days of their filming, particularly about him trying to introduce himself to Washington. He recalled,

The first day that I was working with Denzel, he was up in the box, and I was rolling around fighting some monkeys or something. And at the end of the day, I was like, ‘God, I must go up.’ I stood at the bottom of the steps, and I stood there for a couple of minutes, and I said, ‘Not today’. So I bailed out, and I ran to my dressing room and was like, ‘Tomorrow, I’m going to be a brave boy‘.

Mescal added that the second day he waited at the bottom of the stairs and was just trying to gather the courage to introduce himself. But it was Washington who walked up to him and said to him, ‘Stop working out, man.’ The Aftersun actor mentioned that he felt extraordinary when Washington shook his hands, and then he suddenly asked him to stop working out.

Paul Mescal’s ripped physique for the role has been one of the topics of discussion, and the actor, somewhere else in the interview, addressed his rigorous regime to get that physique. He added that he ate a lot of chicken breasts and did heavy lifting, but noted that he drew a line when it came to giving up something and drinking alcohol.

Washington, in conversation, did not forget to appreciate Mescal, as he said that he delivered in the role he was signed up for. He concluded by saying that he saw when Russell Crowe did it and now when Paul Mescal did it.

Paul Mescal admits he was keen to jump into the world of Gladiator

In a recent cover shoot for EW, Paul Mescal sat down to talk about his experience, which brought up the topic of his casting on the show. After the script for Gladiator II was done, Scott was out looking for the actor to fill in the shoes for Lucius. Mescal, who rose to fame with Normal People, had been a part of projects including Aftersun and All of Us Strangers, but it was Normal People who helped him land the role.

The publication reports that Ridley Scott started watching Normal People as needing a bedtime story and didn’t think he’d be into watching the romantic drama but was indeed hooked. He knew instantly that Paul Mescal was his Lucius. Talking about it, Mescal shared,

It’s a weird thing. It obviously feels like a massive step in a totally different direction to watch what I’ve done for the last, say, five years since Normal People came out. When it [the part of Lucius] came my way, I felt like I was right for it and as ready as you could be for doing something on a bigger scale. I had an appetite for it.

Mescal noted that he was super keen on jumping into the world of Gladiator, and thus, after he was signed up for the part, he started training for it. He mentioned that he loved how distinct the fights were from each other. He noted that he is very proud of how one can feel the accumulation of the violence on his body as the film progresses. The actor said that one can feel that the fights are about survival.

Gladiator II is scheduled for release on November 22, 2024.