If ''Gladiator 2'' Becomes Very Successful, Paul Mescal's Life Will Be Ruined!
The original 'Gladiator' made Russell Crowe one of the most famous actors in the world and won him the Oscar for best actor. Is Mescal ready for such worldwide attention? He claims his life is on the brink of ruin. Details below...
The countdown to the film "Gladiator 2" starring Paul Mescal has begun.
Paul Mescal is an Oscar-nominated actor who already has a solid fan base thanks to his roles in 'Normal People', 'Aftersun', 'All of Us Strangers' and many more, but his fame is set to explode when Ridley Scott's 'Gladiator 2' is released this autumn. Mescal is starring in the sequel in front of a rich supporting cast including Pedro Pascal and Denzel Washington.
Mescal is afraid of the fame the film might bring him.
'I don't know what the difference will be,' Mescal recently told The Times UK, when asked about the possibility of his reputation being enhanced by the sequel. 'Maybe it's naivety? Just because more people will stop you in the street? If so, I would be deeply depressed and I hope that's not true. I'll get my answer next year, but if [the film] affects my life that way, I'll be in a bad spot. I'd have to move on and play a stupid game that no one wants to see.'
Mescal, who is angry that making a film is equated with content, said, "Acting should never be reduced to the number of Instagram followers.
Mescal told the press that he takes acting 'very seriously' and does not do it for exposure, which is why he is surprised that criteria such as social media followers play a role in casting.
'For the last few years people have been talking about films and TV series as content,' Mescal added. 'It's a disgusting word. It's not 'content', it's a fucking job. I'm not being snobbish, but there are two simultaneous industries. One operates with a lack of care and artistic integrity. Go crazy, do something with Instagram followers, whatever... But the other is what's always been there, the craft of making films, directing, lighting and production design. These things keep the artists alive. And audiences want to be challenged.'
Mescal also answered questions about not calling Russell Crowe, the former lead of the film "Gladiator".
In an interview with Esquire UK before the SAG-AFTRA strike last year, Mescal said that he never approached Crowe about a sequel to 'Gladiator' because the film's story did not involve Maximus, played by Russell Crowe, who died at the end of the first film. In Scott's sequel, Mescal plays Lucius, the nephew of Commodus (played by Joaquin Phoenix in 'Gladiator').
'I don't know what we're going to talk about,' Mescal said of never being able to reach Crowe. 'I'd love to hear his stories about the film shoot, but the character is something else entirely.
Crowe admits he's jealous but tells people not to ask him about the sequel.
It seems that Crowe never expected Mescal to contact him either. Crowe has repeatedly said that neither Scott nor anyone else involved with 'Gladiator 2' contacted him because the sequel has nothing to do with the character he played in the original 2000 film. Crowe even urged the press at the Karlovy Film Festival last July to stop asking him about the sequel to 'Gladiator'.
'They have to pay me for questions about a film I'm not even in,' Crowe said. 'It has nothing to do with me. I'm dead in that world. Six feet under. But I have to admit I also feel a little jealous because it reminds me of my youth and what it meant to me in my life.'
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