Paul Mescal delved into his workout for ‘Gladiator II’ in a recent chat with Vanity Fair. The actor made it clear that his training focused on mastering his fight choreography rather than becoming a ‘sex symbol’ and explained:
“I just wanted to be big and strong and look like somebody who can cause a bit of damage when shit hits the fan. I think also, sometimes, one could, in striving for that perfect look, end up looking more like an underwear model than a warrior.”
His Nickname On Set
Mescal took on the role of a gladiator named Lucius opposite Pedro Pascal’s Marcus Acacius in the upcoming sequel. Pascal started calling his co-star ‘Brick Wall Paul’ on set because of how bulked up he got:
“He got so strong. I would rather be thrown from a building than have to fight him again. To go up against somebody that fit and that talented and that much younger…. Outside of Ridley [Scott] being a total genius, Paul is a big reason as to why I would put my poor body through that experience.”
The Actor Was Familiar With Physical Work
Mescal also mentioned that director Ridley Scott handpicked him for the ‘Gladiator II’ role, partly due to his history with sports. The actor recalled their first meeting:
“We spoke for about 20 to 30 minutes. I wanted to get a flavor from him about what the story was going to be about, so we spent about 15 minutes talking about that, and then we spent another 10 minutes talking about the sport that I played growing up — Gaelic football. Maybe that was something that helped with it, in that I’m used to being physical in my body. My memory of it is that probably two or three weeks later, the offer came in.”
The sequel to 2000’s ‘Gladiator’ will come out on November 15 in the UK, and on November 22 in the US and Canada.
