- In the wake of Sydney’s red carpet world premiere, BH recently sat down to interview Paul Mescal, Connie Nielsen, and Fred Hechinger about Gladiator 2 (stylised as Gladiator II).
- The sequel to the Academy Award-winning original follows Mescal’s Lucius Verus Aurelius, who finds himself in the Colosseum during a time of crisis in Rome’s imperial history.
- Gladiator II officially hits Australian cinemas on November 14th, 2024.
For men of a certain age, Ridley Scott’s Gladiator is held in such reverence that it’s practically a religion — and to produce a sequel is essentially to be tasked with elaborating upon Academy Award-winning perfection.
Naturally, the elation of being canonised as Lucius Verus Aurelius (Maximus-related parentage plot twist and all), within a filmic mythology deemed sacrosanct, quickly filled Paul Mescal with dread.
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“That’s what it’s always like. The thrill of being cast in something is quickly followed by intense introspection and fear. And I think this was magnified somewhat given it’s Gladiator,” laughed Paul Mescal.
So what was it like for budding young actors who’d ostensibly grown up on a steady diet of Ridley Scott to be directed by the celebrated auteur himself?
“He’s wickedly intelligent, he’s so funny. He has this deep love veiled behind this hard exterior. The fact that we get to sit here and call him a friend of ours is the most bizarre thing to come out of this for me,” Mescal continued.
“I couldn’t have wished that in any version of my wildest dreams.”
Fred Hechinger, who portrays the campily demented Co-Emperor Caracalla in this swords-and-sandals epic, explained: “His sense of humour really surprised me… it creates a warmth that’s just special. Like you walk on set and immediately, he’s got the most excitement of any person.”
As if he’s making his first-ever film “even though he’s working with 12 cameras and the largest crew I’ve ever seen,” Hechinger continued. Which prompted Paul Mescal to break out a gruff impression…
“He says, ‘Anybody can use a camera, it’s knowing where to f**king put them.’”
By all accounts, Ridley Scott’s process hasn’t exactly changed since he was directing Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, and Connie Nielsen — the latter of whom reprises her role as Lucilla, noblewoman and mother of both Spencer Treat Clark and Mescal’s Lucius, after a quarter-century.
“He’s the classic Ridley, however, technology has changed the time it takes Ridley to do things. And it’s also broadened his scope of opportunities in a way that’s almost insane… things that he absolutely could not do with number one,” Ms Nielsen told BH.
“Now he can do double as much in half the time.”
“It took 52 days to do Gladiator II, but he was able to create a scale and spectacles that were technically impossible 25 years ago… At the same time, it’s giving you 18 years of story that’s matured all of these events. Almost like the fates have brought it all together.”
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You can catch the much-anticipated Gladiator 2 starting tomorrow (November 14th, 2024) — check out a highlight cut of the cast interview above and the trailer below.
To read our more extensive chat with leading man Paul Mescal, keep an eye out for Vol. 3 of B.H. Magazine (available from early 2025).
