Paul Mescal Talks 'Gladiator' Nerves, Co-Star Pedro Pascal, Russel Crowe & More in 'Esquire UK'

Pedro Pascal opened up about the upcoming Gladiator sequel in a new interview with Esquire UK.

The 27-year-old Aftersun actor was announced as the star of the long-awaited sequel back in January. Original director Ridley Scott is back in action for the sequel, and franchise star Russell Crowe has also revealed if he will make a cameo.

Speaking with the outlet, Paul touched on some rumors about the movie, including if he was playing Russell‘s son (“nawp”) and if he would be playing a gladiator (“I can’t get into that”).

Clearly, he couldn’t share big plot details. However, he did have some other big revelations, including insight about if he had reached out to Russell for advice and a recollection about his first meeting with co-star Pedro Pascal.

Read more about Paul Mescal’s Gladiator revelations…

On the pressure that comes with starring in the upcoming Gladiator sequel: “I can’t tell you how stressed I am talking about that film in particular, because it’s definitely the biggest one I’ve done. I feel really excited, but, it’s difficult to get away from the legacy of the film a bit. I think it’s really well written and it pays homage to the first one, but it’s very much something that I think I can step into and make comfortably my own.”

On if he’d ask Russell Crowe for advice about the Gladiator sequel: “I’d love to hear his stories from filming, but the character is totally separate.”

On spotting his Gladiator co-star, Pedro Pascal, at the airport: “I was too afraid to go up to him. He came up and just seemed so genuine; I’m really looking forward to hanging out with him.”

In the interview, Paul confirmed that he had not met any other co-stars yet.

On the anxiety of a new film set: “It’s the worst feeling! You fly to a new country and figure out who’s there, and then you panic in your bedroom about being social, and then you kind of let that go. I tend to hang out by myself for a bit until I get my feet on the ground with the work itself. I think that’s the best way to do it, rather than force intimacy that doesn’t exist yet.”

Speaking of the set, we got the first photos from it last month.

If you haven’t seen yet, we pulled together a current lineup of stars attached to the Gladiator sequel, including new faces and a couple of returning stars from the original.

The Autumn issue of Esquire UK is on sale from 24 August

Scroll through the new photos of Paul Mescal for Esquire UK in the gallery…