“Gladiator II” star Paul Mescal on his relationship with fame

Walking through the streets of Dublin, Paul Mescal said, “There’s this weird sensation about landing into the city – I don’t know, it just makes me feel calm.”

The Irish actor was not going to get much of that calm on this stop, attending the Dublin premiere of “Gladiator II.” He was here to promote the highly-anticipated film. “There’s a little bit of really enjoying it, but part of it also hanging on for dear life,” he said. “Just the size is something that I haven’t experienced before. I also just haven’t led a huge amount of films.”

In “Gladiator II,” he plays Lucius, who learns (along with the audience) of his connection to Russell Crowe’s character from the original 2000 blockbuster. Nearly 25 years later, director Ridley Scott is back with the sequel, out this week.

To watch a trailer for “Gladiator II” click on the video player below:

What was it like for Mescal to be in the middle of such an epic film? “I would say equally epic,” he replied.

The 28-year-old has already been nominated for an Oscar, playing a single dad in “Aftersun,” and an Emmy for his role in “Normal People.” Aside from the critical acclaim, that series turned him into a Gen Z heartthrob practically overnight. 

Ridley Scott says he was so impressed with Mescal that he cast the young actor after just a 30-minute zoom call.

“I got a phone call and they were like, ‘You’re going to be in “Gladiator II,”‘” Mescal recalled. “That’s kind of massively life-altering news to receive.”

It’s that big? “Yeah, of course it is,” Mescal said. “I think there’s something that comes with the legacy of Ridley Scott.”

The first “Gladiator” won five Academy Awards, including best picture. In this incarnation, from Paramount Pictures (a division of CBS’ parent company), Mescal stars alongside Denzel Washington.

I asked, “As an actor, are you taking mental notes when you work with someone like Washington?”

“When you go back to bed in the evening, you’re like, ‘How is he doing this? How is he doing that?’” he replied. “Every scene I did with him was never how I expected it to go, which is the dream. It was very thrilling to be five feet in front of his face watching him do that.”

Mescal has star power of his own, as we saw when we witnessed a sea of people following us when we met at Trinity College, where, not so long ago, he’d studied acting.

He’s proving to be a singular actor, at least until a recent look-a-like contest. “I feel like it’s easy to do a parody of me,” he laughed.

“The shorts?”

“Yeah yeah yeah.”

Those shorts are the uniform of his other love, Gaelic football. For “Gladiator II,” this athlete bulked-up, putting on 18 pounds of muscle.

I asked, “The role is so different. You’re often playing these kind of softer, almost tormented, shy characters. It’s a major transition for you.”

“Yeah, it is,” he replied. “I think going back to the sport that I played before, there was definitely a desire to make a more physically-informed choice with a character Lucius represented, like, the perfect opportunity for that to happen.”

“Normal People,” his big break, was shot at his alma mater. In it, Mescal portrays the sharp, nuanced emotions of a student: angst, torment, desire. “I think it exposed an audience to me,” Mescal said. “That job essentially allowed me to prove to people that I can act.”

The series came after he made a commercial for an Irish sausage company: “Yeah, that covered my rent for the year. I was absolutely delighted by it.”

He’d started acting at 16, and a high school production of “Phantom of the Opera” changed his trajectory. “I think I’m still chasing that feeling again,” he said. “Nothing has ever really come close to that feeling.”

“Your high school ‘Phantom of the Opera’ production vs. ‘Gladiator II’?” I asked.

“It sounds absolutely bizarre! I think because it felt physically dangerous in my body to be exposed to an audience of people who knew me as somebody who played sports. The adrenaline was, like, extraordinary.”

His childhood, he says, was pretty standard. His mother was a policewoman, his dad a teacher, both now retired. But he credits that upbringing with helping him navigate today’s pressures.

“This is new for me,” he said, of fame.

“But you’re used to attention at this point?”

“Uh, within reason.”

On campus, at times this star was as struck as the students.

Mescal is hoping to maintain some distance, some mystery as an actor, to be able to convincingly inhabit such varied roles. “You don’t want an audience to know you innately,” he said.

And what is his relationship with fame? “Ever-changing,” he said.

Perhaps that’s because it’s all changing so quickly for him. Instead of dispersing during our interview inside, the crowd, we soon discovered, had multiplied. And we got to witness Paul Mescal in a role for which there is no rehearsal, and no script.

“What the hell?” he remarked to the assembled hordes. “I don’t know what to say other than, hello! This is f*****g bananas! I have to go finish an interview … you should all go back to school. See you later!”

       
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Story produced by Mikaela Bufano. Editor: Brian Robbins. 

Seth Doane

Seth Doane is an award-winning CBS News correspondent based in Rome, Italy since 2016. Doane has covered terrorist attacks and breaking news across Europe, traveled with Pope Francis as part of his coverage of the Vatican, and has reported on issues ranging from migration to climate change.