Not even movie stars are immune to the anxieties of starting a new job. And Paul Mescal, Esquire UK’s new cover star, is about to start a biggie: the sequel to Ridley Scott’s Oscar-winning blockbuster Gladiator, as anticipated as it is mysterious. “I can’t tell you how stressed I am talking about that film in particular, because it’s definitely the biggest one I’ve done,” the Aftersun and Normal People star says in his interview. “I feel really excited, but it’s difficult to get away from the legacy of the film a bit.”
While details about the Gladiator sequel are tightly wrapped – Mescal plays Lucius, the son of Crowe’s legendary character from the original – we do know a few things about the film, set for a 2024 release date. Pedro Pascal, another internet boyfriend and star of HBO’s The Last of US, will be co-starring, for example. The pair bumped into each other at LAX airport: “He came up and just seemed so genuine; I’m really looking forward to hanging out with him,” Mescal says. Denzel Washington, Derek Jacobi and Joseph Quinn are also part of the cast. Oh, and Mescal is likely going to be understandably ripped, a requirement of both Ancient Rome and modern Hollywood.
He has been working with a personal trainer, Tim – in June, videos of Mescal working out set certain sections of the internet ablaze – while also stunt training and taking horse-riding lessons. But the 27-year-old isn’t about to eradicate all fun: “I set the tone early with Tim, I smoke and drink and that’s not going to change.” While he admits that the training process has begun to feel “addictive”, it’s not a vanity project for Mescal. “If you’re playing a gladiator, you have to be fit and strong,” he says in his Esquire UK Lookbook video. “I think a film like Gladiator is different because to me it’s not a superhero film where half that gig is, to my mind, just getting big and strong. Russell had to be strong because it makes sense for his character.”
Besides, maybe we’re all taking the wrong approach when it comes to how actors approach movie roles which require dedicated gym time (is that not all of them?). “There’s way more interesting questions and conversations to be had about films like this, rather than ‘How many calories did you eat in a day?’,” Mescal says. “Whenever you hear someone saying they ate 7000 calories in a day, I think they’re lying.”
Henry Wong is a senior culture writer at Esquire, working across digital and print. He covers film, television, books, and art for the magazine, and also writes profiles.
