We explain why Paramount entrusted Paul Mescal with the role of Lucius, the protagonist of Gladiator 2
It will seem strange but the Oscar nomination has nothing to do with it, nor was the actor’s audition exciting enough to give him the role. It wasn’t even a question of a recommendation or even, as far as we know, a chance meeting. Paul Mescal was chosen as the protagonist of Il Galdiatore 2 for other very funny reasons.
We know that from the beginning the main interpreter of Gladiator 2 could not be Russell Crowe, because its Maximus Decimo Meridio was dead at the end of the original. Ridley Scott, in agreement with the production, decided that the protagonist had to be Lucius, son of Lucilla and nephew of Commodus and in the first film he had the face of Spencer Treat Clark.
Why was Paul Mescal chosen as the protagonist of Gladiator 2?
To give Lucius a face, Michael Ireland and Daria Cercek went to see him at the theater in London’s West End, where he played Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire. And this is what happened, as Daria Cercek tells Variety:
He played Stanley and there were several moments where he would take off his shirt and the air was electric. The women in the audience were loudly expressing their appreciation and we thought: we’ve found our man.
Paul Mescal, who shot to fame in 2020 with the miniseries Normal People, has been nominated this year for an Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his performance in Aftersun. In Gladiator 2 they will also be there Denzel Washington, Connie Nielsen, Pedro Pascal, Djimon Hounsou e Joseph Quinn, known for playing Eddie Munson in the fourth season of Stranger Things. The sequel to Gladiator should be released on November 22, 2024provided that the actors’ strike does not slow down or block production.
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