Paramount exec cast Paul Mescal in ‘Gladiator 2’ after he took off his shirt

nypost.com:

showed the goods in the West End revival of Tennessee Williams’ “A Streetcar Named Desire.” “He played Stanley, and there are several moments where he takes off his shirt and it was electric,” Daria Cercek admitted to Variety. “The ladies in the audience were very vocal, and we were like, ‘I think we’ve found our guy.’ “It was announced in January that Mescal, 27, would team with Denzel Washington for the action film sequel.He will play Lucius, the grandson of Lucilla (Connie Nielsen) and nephew to Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix) from the original “Gladiator.” “I’m so proud I get to make it,” Mescal told the Hollywood Reporter during Oscar season. “It’s an intimidating feat.

It’s something I’m nervous about, but something I feel like I can do.“Of course, there’s a physical robustness required for the character,” continued Mescal. “This guy’s got to fight and got to be a beast.

And whatever that looks and feels like is right for me, is what it’s going to be.”Russell Crowe, who starred in the original “Gladiator” in 2000, said in April that he would not be returning to the arena a second time and is a little jealous of the “Aftersun” actor. “The only thing that I really feel about it is slightly jealous, you know,” Crowe, 59, admitted to Collider. “I was a much younger man, obviously, and it was a huge experience in my life.”“It’s something that changed my life, really.

It changed the way people regarded me and what I do for a living,” added the “A Beautiful Mind” star. Crowe won the Best Actor Oscar for “Gladiator,” which made $503 million at the box office.“I’ve been very lucky to be involved in lots of big movies,” Crowe continued. “But the legs on that film are incredible.