While Paul Mescal‘s name is very well known in Hollywood, he isn’t sure if he’s ready for the possibility of global attention following Gladiator 2.
During a recent interview with The Times UK, the actor who has starred in popular projects such as Normal People, Aftersun, All of Us Strangers and Foe, admitted that while he doesn’t know what fame the Ridley Scott-directed sequel will bring, he will get “profoundly depressed” if it negatively impacts his personal life.
“I don’t know what the difference will be,” Mescal said. “Maybe that’s naive? Is it just that more people will stop you in the street? I’d get profoundly depressed if that’s so and hope it isn’t true. I’ll have an answer next year, but if [the film] impacts my life in that way, I’ll be in a bad spot. I’d have to move on and do an obtuse play nobody wants to see.”
The Oscar-nominated star noted that he takes his job as an actor “very seriously,” and is in the industry because he’s passionate about it. So when he sees social media and the number of followers people have playing a role in casting, he feels a bit uneasy.
“What are we doing this for?” Mescal asked. “It scares me greatly. Acting should never be reduced to numbers of Instagram followers.”
He added, “Over the last few years, people have been talking about films and TV shows as content. That’s a filthy word. It’s not ‘content’, it’s fucking work. I’m not being snobby, but there are two concurrent industries. One that works with a lack of care and artistic integrity. Go nuts, make stuff with Instagram followers as a factor, whatever … But the other is what’s always been there, the craft of film-making, directing, lighting and production design. That keeps artists alive. And audiences want to be challenged.”
Mescal is starring opposite Pedro Pascal, Denzel Washington, Joseph Quinn and Connie Nielsen in Gladiator 2, which is set to hit theaters on Nov. 22.
Last year, the actor told Esquire that he was “stressed” talking about that particular film because “it’s definitely the biggest one I’ve done.”
“I feel really excited, but, like, it’s difficult to get away from the legacy of the film a bit,” Mescal added. “I think it’s really well written and it pays homage to the first one, but it’s very much something that I think I can step into and make comfortably my own.”
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