Normal People actor Paul Mescal may have had to transform himself into a hulking muscle man for his new role in Gladiator II but his nose was perfect just as it is.
The 28-year-old award-winning Irish star, who found fame after the TV adaptation of the 2018 best-selling Sally Rooney novel, has worked hard to physically transform himself into the Lucius, the grown-up son of Lucilla in Gladiator II.
His character was a child in the original 2000 Oscar-winning film starring Russell Crowe as Maximus Decimus Meridius, a Roman general forced into slavery.
Mescal said he wanted his character to appear “big and strong” on screen, but not look like an “underwear model.”
But he added: “My nose just is kind of Roman so it’s useful in this context. “The nose that I absolutely hated when I was in secondary school—and used to get ribbed for—became very, very useful when Ridley needed somebody to be in Gladiator II.”
In an interview this week Mescal, whose leading role as a troubled father in Aftersun earned him Oscar and BAFTA nominations, said: “I just wanted to be big and strong and look like somebody who can cause a bit of damage when the sh*t hits the fan.
“Muscles start to grow, and that can be deemed aesthetic in certain capacities, but there’s something about feeling strong in your body that elicits just a different feeling.”
Gladiator II which also stars Denzel Washington, Connie Nielson and Derek Jacobi will be released in November.
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