Paul Mescal opened up in a new interview.
The 28-year-old actor was selected as one of 16 stars to cover W Magazine’s Best Performances issue. In an accompanying interview, he reflected on his earliest memories of Gladiator, which came well before he was cast in the 2024 sequel.
He also revealed a time that he lied on an audition to get a job. Spoiler alert: It did come back to haunt him a bit.
Keep reading to find out more…
Paul did not watch the first Gladiator until he was a teen.
“My parents were responsible and didn’t allow me to watch it until I was 13,” he told the outlet. “I watched it with my dad on TV and absolutely fell in love with it. It became one of my favorite films.”
For him, being cast in Gladiator II was a dream come true.
“I’m comfortable making the admission here that I played with fake swords until I was around 15,” he said. “Most children stop when they are 10. So, to be given an opportunity to do it in a way that is the least embarrassing way possible, I was super excited to do that.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Paul admitted that he lied about being able to drive before being cast in Normal People.
“We’d signed the paperwork, I’d gotten the part, and then I’d forgotten about doing my driver’s license. So I ended up doing Normal People on a provisional license. I could only drive the car if there was a fully licensed driver beside me,” he said.
He continued, joking, “I did the best driving—and we have this on record—that anybody’s ever done on-screen in Normal People.”
If you missed it, Paul‘s rumored girlfriend opened up about interest in their relationship.
