Ridley Scott opens up about casting Paul Mescal in ‘Gladiator 2’
nme.comRidley Scott has opened up about his casting of Paul Mescal in the upcoming new Gladiator 2 film.The new film will follow Lucius (Mescal) – the son of Lucilla (Connie Neilson) and Maximus (previously played by Russell Crowe) – and the nephew of Emperor Commodus, who Joaquin Phoenix played in the first film.
Pedro Pescal has also been cast in the film although details about his character are as yet unknown.Scott spoke to Total Film about Mescal’s casting.
On how he came across Mescal he said: “I watched Normal People. It’s not my kind of show but I saw four episodes in a row – boom, boom, boom.“I was thinking, ‘Who the hell is this Paul Mescal?’ And then I watched the whole series.
And then, suddenly, Gladiator 2 came up, because the script was working pretty well. And I kept thinking about Paul. And that was it.”He added: “Can I see Paul Mescal being as big as Russell Crowe?
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