Paul Mescal reveals he became so muscular he felt his body ‘could inflict real damage’ after intense training sessions for Gladiator II
Paul Mescal has revealed he was so ripped he felt he could do ‘real damage’ to his body after his intense training sessions for Gladiator II.
The actor, 28, explained that after training with a fitness coach, riding horses and learning to fight, he started to feel strong and powerful.
The star, who had no previous experience with bodybuilding or training, transformed herself for the role in Ridley Scott’s film.
He told it The sun: ‘You get the feeling that your body can do damage, which is strange.
‘It changes the way you move and work. And that’s a nice place to live if it’s a fantasy.’
Paul Mescal, 28, has revealed he became so ripped he felt he could do ‘real damage’ to his body after intense training sessions for Gladiator II.
The actor explained that after training with a fitness coach, riding horses and learning to fight, he started to feel strong and powerful
The star, who had no previous experience with bodybuilding or training, transformed herself for the role in Ridley Scott’s film
The actor, who rose to fame as Connel Waldron in the BBC hit Normal People, plays the son of Russell Crowe’s legendary Maximus.
Although the character has long been dead and buried, it is the vengeful Lucius (Paul) who must fight for his freedom in the film after he is enslaved and ripped away from his wife and daughter by General Marcus (Pedro Pascal).
Gladiator II takes place a few decades after the first part and is about Lucius (the son of Connie Nielsen’s Lucilla) who now lives in Numidia, a region in North Africa.
Although he was sent to Numidia as a child, the film follows Lucius’ return to Rome to reunite with his mother – and finds himself conflicted in the process.
The film, twenty years in the making, was a hit with critics and fans praised Paul’s performance.
But the star revealed on The Graham Norton Show that there was a lot of work to get him ready to play such an iconic role.
About the regime that turned him into a Roman piece of meat, Paul told Graham, “I ate a lot of chicken and lifted heavy things. I worked with a trainer who circled me like a shark and said, “There’s a canvas to work with.”
‘He went into town and I saw him every day. It was fun,” before revealing he didn’t fully embrace the strict rules.
About the regime that turned him into a Roman piece of meat, Paul told Graham, “I ate a lot of chicken and lifted heavy things. I worked with a trainer who circled me like a shark and said, “There’s a canvas to work with.”
Film critics call Gladiator II the ‘best film of the year’ and a ‘true epic’
“I did everything he asked, but I like to drink and I like to smoke, so I’ve drawn a line in the sand in that regard.”
‘I was terrified that they would take away everything, like drinking and me smoking. All in good fun,” he said.
Paul went on to say that he asked his fitness trainer Tim Blakeley to help him integrate drinking and smoking into his strict training regime.
“I said very seriously, ‘Look, Tim, I’m going to keep drinking and smoking for a while if I can,'” Paul recalled.
“He very graciously incorporated them, not into the training routine, but just into my life.”
Earlier this year, footage of Paul’s Gladiator workout was widely circulated on TikTok, showing the actor doing dumbbell shoulder movements for 23 seconds.
In an interview with Capital FM, Paul praised his ‘amazing trainer’ for helping him build his physique for the film, as well as a team of nutritionists – who told him when and what to eat.
Messaging fans looking forward to his new build, Paul added: ‘I had the best trainer in the world, a studio and production to support me through it…
Paul explained that he asked his fitness trainer Tim Blakeley to help him integrate drinking and smoking into his strict training regime
Gladiator II takes place several decades after the first part and shows Lucius (the son of Connie Nielsen’s Lucilla) who now lives in Numidia, a region in North Africa, and is bought by a slave owner (Denzel Washington in the photo)
‘You have to make the audience believe that this is someone who would survive the intense violence throughout the film.
“And you’re not going to survive that as someone running around in Hackney.”
And it seems to have paid off as Paul became more confident as filming progressed.
He explained that as the shoot progressed, he desperately wanted to do bigger and better stunts.
He explained that he had to work very hard for that convince director Ridley to let him make a dangerous jump on a horse.
He says: ‘I had rehearsed it for three, four, five weeks leading up to it.
“And as we got closer to filming, Ridley got nervous about me getting off the horse.”
As a result, just a week before the terrifying stunt was to be filmed, the legendary director took Paul aside and told him, ‘You really don’t do that kind of thing.’
Although he was sent to Numidia as a child, the film follows Lucius’ return to Rome to reunite with his mother – and finds himself conflicted in the process.
Paul added that he was devastated that he wasn’t allowed to try and after pleading with the Hollywood titan, Ridley eventually relented but warned the star that if things went wrong it would cost the production a fortune.
The Irish star explained that Ridley warned him that if he fell off the horse he would owe him two Bentleys, but luckily for Paul everything went smoothly.
Paul further revealed that he didn’t actually audition for the coveted role, but landed it after a 30-minute Zoom call with director Ridley Scott.
“Ridley wastes no time – I thought there would be camera tests and auditions, but we zoomed in for half an hour, talked about the role for ten minutes and then talked about Gaelic football, his dog and his wife for 20 minutes.”
‘I thought there would be more, but he called a few weeks later to offer me the part. I think he just goes on instinct when he gets in and out and I’m very happy that it turned out that way.”