Paul Mescal confirms that he “fights with baboons” in ‘Gladiator 2’

Paul Mescal has spoken about the process of making the much-anticipated Gladiator 2, confirming that there is a scene in which he “fights with baboons”. 

The Irish actor was speaking on the red carpet ahead of the BAFTA Film Awards, where he is nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his role in All Of Us Strangers. 

Speaking to Alex Zane, he spoke about the experience of making the film. “It was unbelievable, an absolute honour. Ridley [Scott] is the king, especially in that format and that kind of scale of film.” 

Paul Mescal talking about Gladiator 2… I REPEAT PAUL MESCAL TALKING ABOUT GLADIATOR 2 #EEBAFTAs pic.twitter.com/iATijGURZi

— BAFTA (@BAFTA) February 18, 2024

“I’m incredibly excited and proud of the work that we did together. Now it’s just waiting on baited breath.” 

Zane then joked that he didn’t want to ask him for any spoilers. “And you will get none,” he laughed. 

The interviewer then asked him whether there was any truth to the rumour that Mescal’s character fights against baboons in one scene in the film. “Well, Ridley said that I fight baboons, so I’m not going to get in trouble for that. So yeah! Unless it’s on the cutting room floor.” 

Director Ridley Scott announced he had written the sequel for his 2000 original film back in 2021; by January 2023, Mescal was first reported to be in talks to star in the film. The cast is also set to feature Pedro Pascal and Denzel Washington. 

In January, Mescal confirmed that he had finished shooting the film. “I survived it,” he joked. 

He also opened up about the casting process for the sequel, revealing he was performing A Streetcar Named Desire when he got the call. 

“I was doing Streetcar Named Desire and that’s when Sir Ridley Scott called and said, ‘do you wanna do this?’,” he recalled. “I was like, is the Pope Catholic? Yeah!” 

Scott has previously explained his thoughts on casting Mescal as the leading role in his upcoming movie, saying he came across the Irish actor through 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?’,” he continued. “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.” 

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