‘Absolutely bananas’ – Paul Mescal says going from starring in Denny sausages’ ad to Gladiator II ‘wasn’t in the bingo cards’

The Kildare native shot to fame in 2020 for his role as Connell in the TV adaptation of Normal People alongside Daisy Edgar-Jones.

However, the Oscar nominated actor first appeared on our screens in a now famous TV ad for sausages in 2018.

In the ad for Denny sausages, Mescal plays a teenager who is inspired to do some globe-trotting after his father tells him over breakfast that the sons of Denny founder, Henry Denny, travelled the world to teach people how to cure bacon.

However, after spinning a globe to decide where to travel to, he ends up in Ballyhaunis, Co Mayo.

The All of Us Strangers star added that playing GAA helped him to secure the role in the Ridley Scott long-awaited sequel.

Speaking to Today FM’s Dave Moore ahead of the trailer release later today, he said: “Whatever it took to get me over the line, look, I’m well used to kind of throwing myself around on the pitch and that was useful in the Colosseum in ancient Rome for sure.”

The second instalment of Gladiator was first announced in 2018, and the trailer drops at 2pm today.

The film is set two decades after the events in the original movie and will see the Kildare native playing the lead role of Lucius.

Lucius, who was seen as a young boy in the first film, is a son of Lucilla and a grandson of Rome’s former emperor Marcus Aurelius.

Now, he is forced to fight for survival in an increasingly corrupt Rome under the rule of tyrannical general Acacius – played by Pedro Pascal.

The Normal People star said the new movie has “the same energy and spirit of the first one” as the movie “picks up the world in the first Gladiator and plants it 20 years in the future”.

“But the character’s journey through the mad world that is ancient Rome couldn’t be more different,” he said.

“I think it balances the kind of honouring of the first film but it’s very much its own beast and very much is a beast of a film. It’s very satisfying in that regard.”

He added that the “hype” about the film is a “new territory for him” and it’s “absolutely bananas”.

“I’ve seen the trailer, seen the film. I think, from my end, the hype is kind of warranted. I’m as big a fan of the first film as the next person,” he said.

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

In relation to the rigorous training undertaken for the role, he said: “I had to eat a lot. I put on about a stone, I had to lift a lot of heavy things and run around.

“I had a team of people around who were telling me to eat what when, run where, run how far, lift this heavy thing for x amount of times. 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. There was no stone left unturned.”

The Maynooth local said he cannot wait to come to Ireland for the Irish premiere of Gladiator II.

“I’ve said this many, many times, but I feel incredibly proud to be Irish. And going from sausage ads to this wasn’t in the bingo cards for me,” he said.

“Me and Andrew Scott both spoke about this coming home to do the All of Us Strangers premiere last year.

“I’m absolutely biased but I think we’ve got the most extraordinary country and people who are deeply supportive of the artists that we have.

“We’re, as a country, punching fire above our weight in terms of the output and long it may 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. I can’t wait to take the film there, to be honest.”

Gladiator II is set to premiere on November 15, 2024.