PACKING A PUNCH

Irish actor Paul Mescal beefed up for his role in the blockbuster epic Gladiator II - and fans are loving it

-  PECULIA MUSHWANA

HE WASN'T the obvious choice for the movie; critics thought he was too lean, too young, and too inexperienced. Besides, he'd never worked on an action film, let alone one of such epic proportions. But Paul Mescal's powerful performance in Gladiator II is proving the prophets of doom wrong.

In Gladiator II—director Ridley Scott's long-awaited sequel to the 2000 blockbuster—Paul plays Lucius, the boy heir from the original film that made Russell Crowe a star. Following Maximus' death, Lucius' mother sends him away from the Roman Empire to the northern coast of Africa, where he builds a life and has a family. Things take a drastic turn when the Roman Empire invades the territory, leading him to become a gladiator at the Colosseum.

His sole aim: avenging his murdered family. Hollywood heart-throb Pedro Pascal steps into the role of Marcus Acacius, the ruthless general leading the Roman Empire's conquest of North Africa, while actor Denzel Washington plays Macrinus, a cunning strategist who becomes a mentor to Lucius. The star-studded film promises a pulse-pounding adventure with Paul at its fiery core.

Yet, despite his pivotal role, the 28-year-old actor found the transition to his first major leading role daunting. The $250 million (R4.5 billion) project required intense physical preparation; he gained nearly 10kg of muscle—and the pressure of performing alongside legends such as Denzel was huge. His nerves got the better of him on the first day of filming alongside Pedro (49) in Morocco, but the film's veteran director got him back on track. "Something settled for me when Ridley slapped me on the back and said, 'Your nerves are no f***ing good to me,'" Paul recalls. Right then he understood he had a job to do and had to get on with it. "Going from independent features to a blockbuster studio picture was intimidating," he says. "Until I realised acting is acting is acting, regardless of the context."