Paul Mescal obtained into peak bodily situation for Gladiator II — however there are two issues he refused to surrender.

“I ate a variety of rooster and lifted heavy issues,” Mescal, 28, stated of his bodily transformation for the upcoming swords-and-sandals epic throughout an look on the U.Okay.’s Graham Norton Present, which airs Friday, October 25, on BBC One.

“I used to be working with a coach who circled me like a shark and stated, ‘There’s a canvas to work with,” Mescal continued. “He went to city, and I noticed him day-after-day. It was enjoyable.”

Nevertheless, the Irish actor conceded that he wasn’t keen to surrender two vices for the function. “I did the whole lot he requested however I wish to drink, and I wish to smoke, so I drew a line within the sand the place these had been involved,” he defined.

Set over 20 years after the occasions of the unique Gladiator film starring Russell Crowe, Mescal performs Lucius Verus, the son of Crowe’s character, Maximus, who’s pressured into slavery and turns into a gladiator to earn his freedom, very similar to Maximus within the first movie.

Chatting with host Graham Norton, Mescal stated he landed the half after chatting with director Ridley Scott over Zoom for simply half-hour.

“Ridley doesn’t waste time,” the Aftersun actor stated. “I assumed there could be digicam assessments and auditions, however we Zoomed for half an hour, spoke for 10 minutes concerning the half, after which 20 minutes about Gaelic soccer, his canine, and his spouse.”

He continued, “I assumed there could be extra, however he known as a couple of weeks later to supply me the half. I feel he simply goes by intuition on set and off and I’m very glad that’s the way in which it went.”

Mescal is joined on Friday’s program by his costar, Denzel Washington, who performs former slave and Lucius’ mentor, Macrinus. Mescal admitted that he was starstruck when he first noticed the Oscar winner on the Gladiator II set.

“It was a giant day in my life — it was wonderful. I spent the primary day pondering, ‘I need to go introduce myself to him,’ and I stood there for a number of minutes earlier than I [decided], ‘Not right now,’” stated the actor. “The subsequent day I made a decision to be a courageous boy.”

Gladiator II is in theaters on Friday, November 22.