One has to imagine that for Paul Mescal the upcoming Gladiator II was a nerve-wracking experience. He was taking over the lead in the sequel to a movie that was both a box office success and an Oscar winner. He was going to be directed by the iconic Ridley Scott. And yet Mescal says there weren’t many nerves after his initial awe, because Scott made it clear he wasn’t going to stand for that.
Based on the Gladiator II trailer, the movie is going to look quite incredible with its recreation of ancient Rome, and in an interview with our sister site Total Film, star Paul Mescal certainly confirms that was the case. But he says that he didn’t have much time to get nervous because Ridley Scott took care of that fairly quickly, with the first thing he told the actor before filming began. Mescal said…
I think the very first day, and just coming out and there being a couple of hundred to a thousand SAs [supporting artists/extras], with fires burning, and the walls of Morocco, I was like, ‘Ooh – this is fucking big.’ But… the first thing [Ridley] said before filming was, ‘Your nerves are no fucking good to me.’ Which is Ridley in a nutshell, but it’s the perfect thing to say, because it’s so liberating. He’s totally right.
Ridley Scott is certainly a director who tells it like he sees it. He’s been bluntly critical of sequels to his films made by others when other directors might simply stay quiet. He’s called Gladiator II one of the best movies he’s ever made, so he’s certainly not downplaying its potential and he’s setting expectations quite high.
The idea that Mescal would be nervous certainly makes sense. Who wouldn’t be in his shoes? The actor admits he had to get out of his own head when it came to being in the Gladiator II cast. He says Russell Crowe left quite a legacy. However, because he’s not actually playing the same role, he didn’t feel the same pressure. Mescal continued…
I think the legacy he’s left with that first film is extraordinary. I think I was consciously trying to get out of my head, like, the projections that people might have of what this film means. I didn’t watch it after I was cast, and then watched it on New Year’s Day with my friends, which was amazing… And there’s nothing really to be gained [by studying it in preparation] as it’s a different character.
On the one hand, making Gladiator II its own movie, with its own characters, may help it as it will be more difficult to compare the movie to its predecessor. At the same time, if the film is too different from the first, it may not be the movie that fans are looking forward to or expecting. Ridley Scott has promised incredible action for the sequel, which will likely help any potential audience members who are as nervous as Paul Mescal.
Gladiator II is set two decades after the first film, and follows Lucius, a child in the first film, as he follows in the footsteps of Russell Crowe’s Maximus and becomes a Gladiator and an inspiration. The movie will hit theaters in November.