Paul Mescal Says ‘If There’s Going to Be a Gladiator III, I Hope I’m in It’

Starring Denzel Washington as Macrinus, Pedro Pascal as Marcus Acacius and Connie Nielsen as Lucilla, Gladiator II follows Lucius as he enters the Colosseum after the emperors of Rome have conquered his home. This occurs years after Lucius witnessed the gladiator Maximus — played by Russell Crowe in the original movie — die at the hands of his uncle. 

Filled with anger, Lucius then looks to his past to help him return Rome’s glory to its citizens. 

Asked if he could relate to his character’s rage with his career journey, Mescal said, “I mean, rage isn’t useful with acting, I think.”

“I think I felt that support at drama school. I was looking, I went to a drama school where it wasn’t about breaking the actors down,” he continued. “It was a drama school that was kind of based on love and support of the young people at the center of it, so very different to Macrinus but there’s a similar kind of message in there somewhere I think.”

The star also revealed that his scenes with costar Connie Nielsen were some of his favorites in the Ridley Scott movie.

“Me and Connie kind of unconsciously stayed apart before we began filming so we came into that scene with very different … we wanted very different outcomes from it,” he told reporters. 

“There was a really robust rehearsal with Ridley and Connie and I was like, ‘This is exactly where I want to be.’ I want to be in the weeds with a great actor and one of the great directors ever.”

Gladiator II is in theaters Nov. 22.