Paul Mescal has recently explained why he didn’t watch original Gladiator before starting work on the sequel.
Speaking with Empire Magazine, the Normal People star said, “Over New Year’s, we watched it with a group of my best friends down in Cork, and that’s when I was like, ‘Oh… The pressure’.”
Paul recalled watching the movie after its release in 2000 but after signing for the sequel, he declined to re-watch the movie until work on the sequel was wrapped, per Bang Showbiz.
However, Paul is confident to impress his audience with Gladiator II, which will release in theatres on November 15.
“Whatever anxiety I had about living up to the first one, I now feel totally at ease. In fact, I’m confident,” stated the actor.
Paul told the outlet, “I am excited for people to now see the film rather than hoping to get away with it.”
Reflecting on the sequel’s plotline, the actor revealed that the “root of the movie is the hero’s journey”.
“The character Lucius is reticent and does not know his place in the world and there’s a latent emotionality in Gladiator II,” he continued.
But Paul mentioned that the “scale of performance it required couldn’t be what he’s used to, which is kind of more internal”.
Elsewhere in the interview, Paul also praised his director Ridley Scott for sharing invaluable lessons about movie-making.
“The movie-maker doesn’t buy into the narrative that people set up around him, and he’s single-minded and focused on the job at hand,” added the actor.
