Gladiator II star’s Aussie fail caught on camera

Gladiator II star Paul Mescal is an incredible actor, but his attempt at an Australian accent leaves a lot to be desired.

Paul Mescal is on the precipice of superstardom.

The 28-year-old is already a well-known actor thanks to his breakout role in Normal People and last year’s All Of Us Strangers, but the Irish star is about to be catapulted to a new level of fame thanks to Gladiator II which hits cinemas on November 14 (I’ve seen it, it’s incredible).

Mescal plays Lucius, who as the trailer alludes to, is connected in some way to Russell Crowe’s character, Maximus, from the original movie.

And trust me when I say that Mescal knocks it out of the park.

He manages to shine in a star studded cast that includes Denzel Washington and Pedro Pascal, so much so experts are already tipping he’ll be nominated for Best Actor at next year’s Oscars.

I recently caught up with Mescal and his Gladiator II co-stars, Fred Hechinger and Connie Nielsen, with the interview highlights below.

Connie Nielsen, Fred Hechinger and Paul Mescal in Sydney. Picture: James Gourley/Getty Images

Aussie accent fail

I always try to do a fun game or challenge at the end of junket interviews, and when I sat down with the Gladiator II actors I asked them to have a crack at doing an Aussie accent (Lame? Yes. Amusing? Absolutely).

I challenged them to explain to the camera why Aussies should go and see Gladiator II, offering them a bag of Caramello Koalas if they did it with an Aussie twang.

Hechinger and Nielsen politely declined, but Mescal, being the champ that he is, gave it a go.

You can watch the video of his hilarious attempt in the video player above.

Breaking the news to loved ones

Mescal recently explained on The Graham Norton Show that he was offered the lead role in Gladiator II after a 30-minute zoom call with director Ridley Scott.

But how did Mescal then break the news to his family?

“(I did it) in a WhatsApp group call to the family,” Mescal told me.

“I had told them that we were getting close and it was looking positive, but then to actually phone everybody back at home and just be like, ‘I’m going to be in Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II,’ (there was) just lots of screaming down the phone, not many words that I can remember, and probably lots of cursing.

“It’s a huge moment for not just the individual but for the family at large. It’s crazy!” Mescal said.

Director Ridley Scott and Paul Mescal on the set of Gladiator II. Picture: Aidan Monaghan / Paramount

On the brink of worldwide fame

Imagine for a moment that you’re Paul Mescal.

You’re 28 years old, and you’re about to become a household name thanks to your starring role in one of this year’s biggest films.

It’s almost unimaginable isn’t it.

“There’s no way to really put words on it without kind of sounding disingenuous and be like, ‘oh, it’s amazing,’ because it doesn’t serve the feeling,” Mescal said when I asked him how he felt about his life changing role.

“It’s so big!’

“I had a big ‘pinch myself’ moment … at this (Sydney) premiere (because) this is the longest plane journey I can get on to be away from home, it’s 22 hours, and you arrive out here and people are coming out to see you and see the film.

“It’s a really profound feeling,” he said.

Paul Mescal at the Australian Premiere of Gladiator II. Picture: James Gourley/Getty Images

Mementos from the set

Gladiator II is full of incredible costumes and fun props, so I was keen to know if the actors had taken anything home with them once filming had wrapped.

Hechinger, who plays the villainous and crazed Emperor Caracalla, the co-emperor of Rome, answered first.

“(I took) my gold tooth,” he said. “It lives on my desk at the moment.”

As for Mescal, “I asked them if I could have one of each look that I’m in … just the armour.”

“It’s in storage somewhere until I actually figure out where it’s going to live,” he said.

Fun prop fact

Connie Nielsen is one of only two actors in Gladiator II who also appeared in the original 2000 film.

The Danish star puts in a powerful performance as she reprises her role as Lucilla, Lucius’s mum.

While watching the film, I couldn’t help but notice that her character always seemed to be carrying and smelling a sprig of lavender, so I asked Nielsen to explain.

Connie Nielsen also appeared in the original Gladiator movie in 2000. Picture: Hanna Lassen/Getty Images

“On the first Gladiator, I was about to do the scene where my brother and I are trundling through Europe to Germania where we’re going to meet up with our father, who’s in the middle of a huge campaign of war against the Goths,” Nielsen said.

“I was talking to (actor) Richard Harris about that period and he said, ‘you know what you should put in there?’ And I said, ‘no, what do you mean?’ And he’s like,’ well, you know, before the advent of deodorant, people used to use little herbal twigs in order to distract from the body odour of people.’

“And so I actually decided to do that and I asked the props to make me these twigs all the time and have like a whole little stash of them, and I did the same this time around,” Nielsen said.

Gladiator II hits cinemas on Thursday, November 14

Originally published as Gladiator II star’s Aussie fail caught on camera