Why Ridley Scott chose Paul Mescal for Gladiator 2: “He's my find, he's absolutely perfect”

The director of Gladiator and its sequel is as much of a fan of the series Normal People as you are.

The first images of Gladiator 2 (Finally, Gladiator II officially) were revealed this week by Vanity Faira sign that the trailer will be unveiled very soon… In the meantime, we have to make do with the (fairly comprehensive) article from Vanity Fair which teases us with an epic fresco, where Lucius, Lucilla's son, seeks revenge on General Acacius who massacred his family and transformed him into a slave and then into a gladiator… Yes, well, it's like Gladiatorbut a quarter of a century later, and with sexy new actors: Pedro Pascal in Acacius, and Paul Mescal in Lucius instead of the Russell Crowe/Joaquin Phoenix duel.

We know exactly what Gladiator 2 will be about: Ridley Scott, Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal and Connie Nielsen tell us

Vanity Fair tells us that, unsurprisingly, this is Paul Mescal's role in the 2020 series Normal People (where he gives the reply to Daisy Edgar-Jones) who caught the eye of Ridley Scott : “Whatever I watch, I'm always on the lookout for interesting personalities, it's in my nature. So, four years ago, when I saw this series, which is not even really my type of series, I wondered who this guy was,” says the director, who met Mescal on Zoom when he was playing A Streetcar Named Desire at the theater. Bingo. “When we met, he immediately told me he was up for it, and that was it. Production was able to continue. Paul is my find, he's absolutely perfect.”

From Normal PeopleMescal has effectively become inevitable: we have since seen it in the pretty melodramas Aftersun And Without ever knowing us with another Irish must-see, Andrew Scott. His performance in the arena will be judged in Gladiator II (but we are confident, eh) on November 13 in France.

Paul Mescal and Pedro Pascal recount their “brutal” clash in Gladiator 2