PAUL MESCAL HAS totally transformed his body for the upcoming Gladiator II. Vanity Fair published a behind-the-scenes look at the sequel to Ridley Scott’s beloved Roman combat movie, and everything looks up to par with the Best Picture-winning original.
Mescal will portray Lucius, the son of Connie Nielsen’s Lucilla. The story unfolds decades after the first film, which starred Russell Crowe, now following Lucius as a young adult living in the northern African region of Numidia. Sent to Numidia by his mother as a child, Lucius returns to Rome as a gladiator, navigating conflict and reuniting with Lucilla.
To prepare for the role, the actor knew he had to bulk up from the lankier stature seen in his breakthrough role in the limited series Normal People. Mescal meticulously planned his workouts to ensure his transformation wouldn’t just make him a Hollywood hunk.
“His training focused on fight choreography rather than sculpting him into a sex symbol,” VF reported.
“I just wanted to be big and strong and look like somebody who can cause a bit of damage when shit hits the fan,” the actor added.
Mescal’s co-stars witnessed his newfound strength firsthand, including Pedro Pascal, who plays Marcus Acacius. Pascal, who faces off against Mescal in the film, revealed that filming their fight scenes was challenging.
“I call him Brick Wall Paul. He got so strong,” Pascal said. “I would rather be thrown from a building than have to fight him again.”
During his fitness journey for the role of a Roman warrior, Mescal was mindful of his end result. “I think also, sometimes, one could, in striving for that perfect look, end up looking more like an underwear model than a warrior,” he said.
It’s no wonder that the intense body training for the role also unintentionally added to his sex appeal. “Muscles start to grow, and that can be deemed aesthetic in certain capacities, but there is something about feeling strong in your body that elicits a different feeling,” Mescal said. “You carry yourself differently. It has an impact on you psychologically in a way that is useful for the film.”
The Vanity Fair piece isn’t the only place where Mescal’s transformed physique was mentioned—in a recent Men’s Health interview, his costar Joseph Quinn called him “a unit,” adding that he “definitely committed a lot to the physicality of his character.”
Mescal and Pascal will face off in Gladiator II, hitting theaters on November 22, 2022. The film will later be available to stream on Paramount+.
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