From Kildare to ancient Rome: Paul Mescal dons sword and sandals
Kildare man Paul Mescal looking ready for battle in the recently released trailer for 'Gladiator II'. Image via YouTube
Paul Mescal is clad in dusty leather armour, wielding a sword, and staring down a blood-splattered rhinoceros in a crowded Colosseum baying for violence. This is no fever dream, but a glimpse into the next epic on the way from legendary director Ridley Scott.
The official trailer for the rather simply titled was released (to mixed reviews) last week with the Kildare man – minus his Lilywhite brogue – front and centre of the action.
He shares the screen with a few faces that might be familiar – Denzel Washington for one, and Pedro Psacal. Esteemed company.
continues the epic saga of power, intrigue, and vengeance set in the ancient civilisation that was Rome.
Years after witnessing the death of the revered hero Maximus at the hands of his uncle, Lucius (Mescal) is forced to enter the Colosseum after his home is conquered by the tyrannical Emperors who now lead Rome with an iron fist.
With rage in his heart and the future of the Empire at stake, Lucius must look to his past to find strength and honour to return the glory of Rome to its people.
Mescal has big shoes to fill. Twenty-four years have elapsed since Russell Crowe’s titanic performance as the formidable Roman general Maximus Decimus Meridius, commander of the Armies of the North and a dab hand at memorable speeches. The historic epic was widely praised and garnered five Academy Awards – including Best Actor for Crowe.
“It picks the world of the first up and plants it kind of 20 years in the future. And it has the same energy and spirit of the first one, but the character’s journey through this – the mad world that is ancient Rome couldn’t be more different,” Mescal told Today FM’s Dave Moore. “It balances a kind of honouring of the first film, but is very much its own, its own beast and it very much is a beast of a film.”
His GAA experience – he won a Leinster minor medal with Kildare in 2013 – undoubtedly helped prepare him for the physicality of the role.
“I’m well used to kind of throwing myself around on a pitch and that was useful in the Colosseum of ancient Rome,” he said with a laugh.
is set to be released on 15 November 2024. We have high hopes.
