Paul Mescal is slowly becoming one of Hollywood’s rising talents who has shown his acting prowess in compelling films in the past few years. While Normal People put him on most people’s radar, the brilliant Aftersun got him several accolades and recognition from the industry.
He delivered yet another emotionally resonant performance in last year’s All of Us Strangers. The actor is set to star in his first big project this year as he will play the main lead in Ridley Scott’s Gladiator 2. The actor, while extremely excited about the project, is concerned about the kind of impact it will have on his career moving forward.
Paul Mescal Is Fearful of Overwhelming Fame After Gladiator 2‘s Release
Paul Mescal became a household name with the 2018 BBC Series Normal People. The actor got a significant amount of fame after the series became a hit with audiences. Mescal especially expressed his discomfort with the baggage that comes with becoming famous to the NY Times.
This same concern has bothered Mescal yet again as the actor is fearful of the impact that Gladiator 2 would bring to his career. Russell Crowe became a sensation after the first Gladiator and became a big movie star, even earning an Oscar. Mescal told Times UK that he would be depressed if he got a similar overwhelming level of fame after the film’s release. He said,
“I don’t know what the difference will be. Maybe that’s naive? Is it just that more people will stop you in the street? I’d get profoundly depressed if that’s so and hope it isn’t true. I’ll have an answer next year, but if [the film] impacts my life in that way, I’ll be in a bad spot. I’d have to move on and do an obtuse play nobody wants to see.”
Mescal understands how invasive the media and paparazzi have become nowadays and their efforts to ask irrelevant awkward questions to get some clicks from the public. The actor does not want this to happen after something as big as Gladiator 2 and his concern is reasonable.
Also read: Even an Oscar-Nomination Couldn’t Satisfy Paul Mescal the Way Andrew Scott’s Romance Drama Did
Paul Mescal Hates The Idea of Movies Being Referred to As ‘Content’
Paul Mescal has been consistently delivering compelling performances since his debut in The Lost Daughter in 2021. He is committed and determined to his craft and takes the movie business very seriously. The actor who recently delivered one of his best performances in All of Us Strangers is calling out against people who undermine the significance of film and TV
In an interview with Times UK, Mescal criticized people who call movies and TV shows as content (most especially when they stream it). He states that making a movie is hard work and merely referring to it as just content is ‘filthy’. He said,
‘Acting should never be reduced to numbers of Instagram followers. Over the last few years people have been talking about films and TV shows as content. That’s a filthy word. It’s not ‘content’, it’s fucking work”
Mescal is set to star in Ridley Scott’s Gladiator 2 alongside Denzel Washington, Connie Nielsen, and Pedro Pascal. He will also be a part of Richard Linklater’s next film Merrily We Roll Along which will be shot for a couple of years to reflect the passage of time just like his film Boyhood.
