Gladiator 2: Paul Mescal was ‘too scared’ to film conversation with Pedro Pascal

Paul Mescal is the lead in the Gladiator sequel and will co-star Pedro Pascal. The actor, best known for Normal People and nominated for an Oscar for playing a troubled father in the drama Aftersun, reflects on his first relationship with The Mandalorian and The Last Of Us character and why he is directing the sequel. Ridley Scott highlights it.

In this second part, Paul Mescal will play Lucilla (Connie Nielsen), former lover of Maximus and sister of Commodus, a role played by a young Spencer Trait Clarke in the original 2000 film. And before filming began, he crossed over Pedro Pascalwho also starred in the film, at the airport in Los Angeles, but was “too afraid” to approach him: so the latter came to him.

He returns to this anecdote in an interview with Esquire (Deadline), which took place before the SAG-AFTRA strike.

It came and it seemed so real. I’m really looking forward to spending time with him.

A stressful project

Although the shooting of Gladiator 2 was halted due to the actors’ strike, Paul Mescal At the time, he also said that he was nervous about not revealing anything about the project.

I can’t talk about it! I can’t tell you how excited I am about this particular movie because it’s definitely the biggest I’ve ever gotten. I feel very excited, but it’s hard to get away from the film’s legacy a little bit.

He went on to say that this second installment will be a tribute to the original: “I think it’s really well written and pays homage to the first one, but it’s something I think I can get into and feel comfortable owning.“

Paul Mescal He also noted that he had never spoken to the star GladiatorRussell Crowe:I don’t know what to talk about. I would love to hear his stories during filming, but the character is completely separate.“

Gladiator 2 releases on November 20, 2024. Meanwhile, the first episode is available on Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.