August 5, 2023
How Paul Mescal's Shirtless Moments in 'Streetcar' Won Him a 'Gladiator 2' Role
Kilian Melloy READ TIME: 2 MIN.
"Aftersun" actor Paul Mescal shucked his shirt during performances in Tennessee Williams' "A Streetcar Named Desire" on the West End – and that, Vanity Fair reports, helped secure him a role in the new sequel to "Gladiator."
"There are several moments where he takes off his shirt" during the play, Paramount Pictures executive Daria Cercek told the magazine, "and it was electric."
The women in the audience certainly agreed; Cercek, who attended the play to suss out whether Mescal might be a likely prospect for a role in the film, told Vanity Fair that female theatergoers "were very vocal, and we were like, 'I think we've found our guy.' "
The 27-year-old Irish actor appeared in the Maggie Gyllenhaal film "The Lost Daughter " in 2021, drawing industry (and viewer) notice. The following year, he won plaudits – and an Oscar nomination – for his role as a young father on holiday with his 11-year-old daughter in Charlotte Wells' semi-autobiographical film "Aftersun."
Mescal starred in another acclaimed film, "God's Creatures," that same year, and also trod the boards as Stanley Kowalski in the Tennessee Williams classic, garnering a Laurence Olivier Award for his sometimes-shirtless work in that play.
As well as winning the part of Lucius in the upcoming movie, of course. The actor identified "Gladiator" as "one of my favorite films" in comments to Vanity Fair earlier this year, the outlet noted, and said that being part of the sequel "feels more dumbfounding than the Oscar nomination, to be honest."
Viewers may be dumbfounded too, when they see the physical transformation Mescal has undergone to get "Gladiator" fit. A viral video from earlier this summer showed the actor working out with weights, sporting new muscles as well as a Roman-looking beard and head of curly hair.
Though only a child when the original Ridley Scott film – starring Russell Crow and Joaquin Phoenix – came out in 2000, Mescal is the right age to play the son of Lucilla (Connie Nielsen) one of the main characters in "Gladiator" in the sequel. Nielsen will reprise the role, and Scott will return to direct the follow-up. "Strange Way of Life" star Pedro Pascal also stars, as does Denzel Washington.
Kilian Melloy serves as EDGE Media Network's Associate Arts Editor and Staff Contributor. His professional memberships include the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, and the Boston Theater Critics Association's Elliot Norton Awards Committee.
