Was too nervous to talk to Pascal before shooting 'Gladiator 2': Paul Mescal

LOS ANGELES: Actor Paul Mescal, who is scheduled to star as a lead in the upcoming 'Gladiator 2', has said that while filming with Pedro Pascal, he was too nervous and scared to even talk to him, and "highly stressed" before the filming began.

According to 'The Hollywood Reporter', in a recent interview with Esquire, conducted before the SAG-AFTRA strike, the actor said he actually saw ‘The Last of Us’ star at LAX airport just before his involvement in the movie was announced, but “was too afraid to go up to him.”

He said Pascal ended up coming over to him and “just seemed so genuine; I’m really looking forward to hanging out with him.”

‘The Normal People’ star previously told THR, that he didn’t have to audition for the part, but rather took a meeting with director Ridley Scott, who “discussed the parameters of the story. Then, after the fact, I was given a script.”

Mescal didn’t share too many details about the ‘Gladiator’ sequel with Esquire because he was nervous he would say something he wasn’t supposed to.

“I can’t get into that!” he told the outlet. “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, like, 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", he added.

The actor also admitted that he hadn’t spoken to the original ‘Gladiator’ star Russell Crowe. “I don’t know what we would talk about,” he explained. “Like, I’d love to hear his stories from filming, but the character is, like, totally separate.”

In the movie, Mescal takes on the lead role of adult Lucius, depicted in the original as the young nephew of Commodus, the Roman Emperor played by Joaquin Phoenix.

Currently, the filming for the film has been halted due to the strikes, though about half of the filming has already been completed by Ridley Scott, but since June it has made no progress.