Paul Mescal on Gladiator II: 'Going from sausage ads to this wasn't ...

Mescal said he gained a stone for the part, which he did by eating “a lot” and lifting “lots of heavy things”.

“When you're talking about films of this scale, you have a team of experts around you who support your entire process so it was kind of a dream come true,” he told Today FM’s Dave Moore.

The Kildare man also said he had to grow out his beard for the much-anticipated film for “what felt like 10 years”.

“It was all natural believe it or not. Jana and Julianna who did hair and makeup on this were just next level. Lots of blood and dirt-covered sweaty men running around for 2 and half hours.” 

Paul Mescal in the makeup chair for Gladiator II. The said the hair and makeup team were 'next level'. Picture: Instagram Pedro Pascal/@pascalispunk

When asked by Moore whether it was his GAA career that helped him secure the role, Mescal said: “I'm well used to kind of throwing myself around on a pitch. That was useful in the Colosseum in ancient Rome, for sure.” 

Scott, the film’s director, previously admitted that Mescal appeared on his radar when he watched Normal People. For Irish people, however, he first came to our screens on a Denny sausages advertisement.

“Going from sausage ads to this wasn’t in the bingo card for me.” He also said Ireland is the “most extraordinary country” and that he’s proud to be an Irishman.

“People who are deeply supportive of the artists that we have and we’re kind of as a country punching far above our weight in terms of the output and long may it continue and it should be supported because we’ve got immense talent for such a small country.

“I definitely feel an overwhelming sense of support from people back home and I can’t wait to take the film there, to be honest.” 

Paul Mescal says the Gladiator II hype 'is kind of warranted'. Picture: IMDB

First look images shared by Vanity Fair last week showed Mescal’s Lucius washing his hands in the sand, just as Crowe’s Maximus once did, as well as himself and Pascal, who plays Marcus Acacius, a Roman general said to have trained as a junior officer under Crowe’s character, drawing blood in a sword fight.

The official trailer has been released today, with plenty of excitement building ahead of its release date in November this year. Mescal said: “It’s new territory for me. It’s absolutely bananas but I’ve seen the trailer and the film, I think the hype is kind of warranted.

“I’m as big of a fan of the first film as the next person and I think it’s just indicative of the legacy that this film has. Ridley Scott directing a second one, for people who love film, it’s a no-brainer.” 

He explained that the sequel “picks the world of the first Gladiator up and plants it 20 years into the future”.

“It has the same energy and spirit of the first one but the character's journey through the mad world that is Ancient Rome couldn’t be more different. It balances an honouring of the first film but is very much its own beast and it very much is a beast of a film.”