I was s***ting myself when I first met Ridley Scott… then his blunt response dismissed all my nerves, says Paul Mescal

PAUL MESCAL has revealed helium was a quivering wreck astatine the imaginable of moving with movie titan Sir Ridley Scott connected caller surface epic Gladiator II.

But the Irish actor said the legendary manager simply slapped him connected the back, bluntly dismissed his nerves and marched him retired to the movie acceptable successful Malta.

Paul, 28, who recovered fame successful TV play Normal People, plays arena combatant Lucius successful the movie, the sequel to 2000 smash Gladiator.

Recalling however helium was struck dumb arsenic helium waited to commencement filming his archetypal Hollywood blockbuster erstwhile Ridley walked into his tent, Paul said: “He comes successful with a cigar, and we’re each conscionable sitting there.

“I was perfectly s**tting myself. He looks astatine maine and helium goes, ‘Are you nervous?’ and I didn’t cognize what the due reply was, truthful I was like, ‘Argh’.”

Miming being slapped connected the back, Paul said with a laugh: “And helium was like, bang, ‘Your nerves are nary f**ing bully to me’.

“So helium marches america out, cameras are turning over. The blessing of the troops was the archetypal country that we shot, and that was what we walked into.

“And I deliberation that’s portion of Ridley’s genius, wherever he’s like, ‘We’re connected this thrust together. Let’s not discarded immoderate time’.”

Paul and co-star Denzel Washington are tipped for Oscar nominations for the follow-up to the archetypal film, which brought Russell Crowe global stardom.

Yet Paul revealed helium was formed arsenic Lucius by Ridley implicit a 30-minute Zoom call.

He said: “Ridley does not discarded time. I thought determination would beryllium camera tests and auditions, but we Zoomed for fractional an hour, spoke for 10 minutes astir the portion and past 20 minutes astir Gaelic football, his canine and his wife.”

Paul transformed his assemblage for the relation with a gruelling workout regime, adjacent posting a video of himself looking ripped successful a brace of shorts and lifting weights.

He said: “I had this naive thought astatine the commencement wherever I was like, ‘I’m possibly going to conscionable play a gladiator that benignant of looks normal’.

“I accidental Lucius represented thing to maine that I had ne'er done before.”

Paul’s idiosyncratic trainer Tim Blakeley got him ripped, but archetypal helium asked the histrion to instrumentality disconnected his apparel astatine their archetypal gathering to spot what enactment needed to beryllium done.

‘Body parts’

Paul recalled connected the Graham Norton Show: “So I’m stood determination successful my underwear, I’m a small spot hungover and helium conscionable starts circling maine similar a shark, similar conscionable processing, and helium goes, ‘OK, there’s a canvas to enactment with’, and starts fundamentally grading my assemblage parts and goes, ‘The arms we’re going to conflict with’.”

Early reviews of the sequel are hailing it arsenic the champion movie of the year, and Paul agrees.

He said: “I deliberation this movie wears the bequest of the archetypal movie with aggravated pridefulness and honour.

“But I deliberation it takes it successful a absorption that drives that honour and respect done the roof. It’s made by the lone antheral who could ever interaction it, successful Ridley Scott.

“And personally arsenic his person and his agelong admirer, I deliberation it’s 1 of his finest pieces of enactment that I’ve seen successful caller times.

“And I’m truthful utterly arrogant of his work, my work, and everybody.”

And Paul voiced his gratitude astatine being formed successful the role.

He said: “This has wholly changed my life.”