UK rocker Matt Healy makes surprise appearance at Gladiator II premiere in Sydney

The stars of the much anticipated Gladiator II film premiered in Sydney overnight with the cast walking the red carpet along with one surprise famous face.

The stars frocked up and rocked up to the Gladiator II premiere in Sydney on Wednesday night, but it was a surprise appearance by a UK rocker that really delighted the crowd.

Among the celebrity guest list were the film’s stars Paul Mescal, Connie Nielsen and Fred Hechinger, who were eagerly greeted by fans on the red carpet outside the ICC Darling Harbour Theatre ahead of the special screening of the highly anticipated Gladiator sequel.

While the 1975 frontman did not walk the red carpet, opting instead to sneak into the theatre incognito through a side door, he was quickly spotted by fans inside the venue.

Despite wanting to fly under the radar, the 35-year-old rocker was all smiles as he mingled with the crowd with several TikTok videos showing him chatting to fans, posing for photos and even tucking in to some popcorn.

Rocker Matt Healy was spotted at Gladiator II premiere in Sydney on October 30.

The rocker arrived quietly through a side door, but fans were quick to spot him inside the ICC Darling Harbour Theatre.

“When we were inside some guy walked past us and I was like oh my god, that looks like Matt Healy. Um, cause it was Matty Healy,” one TikTok user said in a video.

“He was so down to earth, he was so nice. He spoke to us, he asked me what my name was. I told him Somebody Else was a song that changed my life,” they added, referring to The 1975’s hit song.

Healy was seen engaging with his fans and eating popcorn.

Healy was accompanied by his fiancée, US model Gabbriette Bechtel, who could be seen in the TikTok videos. The couple announced their engagement in June, one year after his highly publicised break-up with Taylor Swift.

“They are no longer romantically involved,” a source told People magazine at the time of the couple’s month-long romance. “They were never boyfriend-girlfriend or exclusive and were always just having fun.”

“There is no drama, and who knows what could happen again. It was a good time and ran its course,” another source told the outlet.

While Healy entered through a side door, Gladiator II star Paul Mescal worked the crowd outside. Picture: James Gourley/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures

Still, the relationship seemed significant enough to Swift, who many believe sang about their fling in multiple tracks on her record-breaking album The Tortured Poets Department.

For his part, Healy has maintained his silence about their romance, until last week when he appeared to throw a dig at Swift’s pattern of making her “casual” relationships the subject of her songs.

In a recent appearance on the Doomscroll podcast, Healy shared the method behind his songwriting saying he “used to write about relationships a lot more” but that is a thing of the past.

Gladiator II stars Michael Pruss, Fred Hechinger, Connie Nielsen and Paul Mescal on the red carpet. Picture: Brendon Thorne/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures

“Last year I became a way more well-known public figure for loads of different reasons. The only reason that I was interested in is what I was doing.”

He said that artists often get caught up in what happens outside the studio and tend to base their music on all that fanfare, but that was “not interesting” to him.

“Honestly, I would kind of just be lying if I made a record about, I don’t know, all the stuff that was said about me or my casual romantic liaisons — or whatever it may be that I’ve kind of become known for just because I was famous.”

“That’s an obvious thing to draw from, and I’m just not interested in [it]. The idea of making a record about something that personally happened to me, that by the time I put it out is gonna be, like, two years old… I see people doing that as well, and it’s not interesting.”

Originally published as UK rocker Matt Healy makes surprise appearance at Gladiator II premiere in Sydney