To follow in the sandal-clad footsteps of Russell Crowe’s Oscar-winning performance of Maximus in Gladiator is not for the faint of heart. Nor the weedy of limb.
Which is why Paul Mescal knew going from his brooding and bookish portrayal as Connell Waldron in the television adaptation of Sally Rooney’s Normal People to fearless, formidable and rabble-rousing warrior in Gladiator II would need more than just a change of character. It would require the complete transformation of his physique.
