Paul Mescal on feeling the ‘pressure’ for ‘Gladiator II’ to be successful — and his ‘holy f–k’ moment with Denzel Washington

nypost.com:

highly anticipated sequel to Ridley Scott’s 2000 hit film “Gladiator.”“I do feel the pressure, and I do feel the desire for this to make money,” Mescal told Variety in an interview published Wednesday. “The box office needs a shot in the arm, and if films like ‘Gladiator II’ aren’t doing it, it would be concerning.

So I do feel a responsibility.”The actor also recalled watching the first action-packed movie at 13.“I was at home with my dad,” Mescal said. “I feel like for a lot of dads it was a big film, like, ‘Come on, son, let’s watch ‘Gladiator!’ ”On why the “Foe” alum chose to work on “Gladiator II,” Mescal said it was simple: “It was really just Ridley and ‘Gladiator,’ and I felt like I was ripe for this kind of big film.”“I played sports growing up; I know what it is to throw myself around.

I look Roman,” he continued. “All of those things. And it’s Ridley Scott!”“Gladiator II” is set more than two decades after the events of the original “Gladiator.” In the sequel, Mescal plays the grown-up Lucius Verus II, the son of Russell Crowe’s character, Maximus, who ends up forced into slavery and becomes a gladiator to earn his freedom, much like his dad did in the first movie.Denzel Washington is also in the film, playing Macrinus, an arms dealer and businessman well-known in the Roman Empire, and Mescal took a moment to gush over meeting the Oscar winner for the first time.“Holy f–k, I’m in a scene with Denzel!

It could have been overwhelming,” he reflected, “but I kind of set out in my head that I’m totally entitled to admire this man and see him as an idol, but I’ve got to protect myself from that when we’re working together.