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Paul Mescal has admitted that 'everything felt like slow motion' when he secured his 'life changing' lead role in Gladiator.
The actor, 28, who will star as Lucius Verus in Ridley Scott's eagerly anticipated sequel, takes on his biggest role to date as the grandson of Rome's former emperor Marcus Aurelius and son of Lucilla.
Joining Pandora Christie on Wednesday's Heart Evening show recalled the moment he received the call.
He explained: 'I was walking to the theatre. I was doing A Streetcar Named Desire in London; I was walking through Islington to get down to the theatre and my agent called me.
'Like, it was kind of one of those things where it feels like everything goes into slow motion, where it is like, I’ve got my earphones in and I was getting this news that would change course of my life.'
Paul Mescal has admitted that 'everything felt like slow motion' when he secured his 'life changing' lead role in Gladiator
The actor, 28, who will star as Lucius Verus in Ridley Scott's eagerly anticipated sequel, takes on his biggest role to date as the grandson of Rome's former emperor Marcus Aurelius
Paul continued: 'But you’re in this weird bubble where nobody else has a clue that Gladiator II even exists at this point.
'And then I think I like blacked out in my head. I was like, "Well, I can’t really remember of that day." It was just a lot of information to absorb.
'I phoned my mum and dad very, very, very quickly. Told them. But then I was doing the play in the evening, so you just kind of put it out of your head.'
Paul underwent a huge body transformation for the role, embarking on a gruelling training regime.
'It was lots of lifting heavy things and running around the place. But I literally had anything that I could have ever wanted,' he said.
'Burgers and chips and everything!'
With Russell Crowe's legendary Maximus long-since dead and buried, it is vengeful Lucius who must fight for his liberty after being taken into slavery.
A former heir to the Roman empire, Lucius is imprisoned by Pedro Pascal's Marcus Acacius - a feared general who honed his fighting skills under the tutelage of Maximus - and his marauding army of troops.
Joining Pandora Christie on Wednesday's Heart Evening show recalled the moment he received the call
He explained: 'It was kind of one of those things where it feels like everything goes into slow motion, where it is like, I was getting this news that would change course of my life'
Played by a then 12-year old Spencer Treat Clark in Scott's original film, Lucius is now an adult and intent on forcing his way out of the notorious fighting pits, at all costs.
Along the way he encounters and befriends Denzel Washington's Macrinus, a power broker who keeps a stable of gladiators and sees battle-hungry Lucius as a promising investment.
The new trailer also features Stranger Things star Joseph Quinn and Fred Hechinger as impish Roman co-emperors Geta and Caracalla, with both bearing a strong resemblance to Marcus Aurelius' scheming son Commodus, played by Joaquin Phoenix.
The long-awaited Gladiator sequel, directed by Ridley Scott, will debut 24 years after the original historical film aired in 2000.
At the time, the OG flick won five Oscars from its 11 nominations, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Russell Crowe's portrayal of gladiator Maximus.
David Scarpa scripted the sequel, while Ridley, Douglas Wick, Lucy Fisher, Michael Pruss and David Franzoni produced the film.
Decades have passed, but Maximus remains fresh in the memory as Paul's Lucius picks up the sword in the first official trailer for Ridley Scott's Gladiator II
Lucius was played by Spencer Treat Clark in the original 2000 blockbuster (left), now fully gown, he is played by Paul Mescal in the forthcoming sequel (right)
A former heir to the Roman empire, Lucius is taken into slavery by Pedro Pascal 's Marcus Acacius and his marauding army of troops
Denzel Washington plays Macrinus, a power broker who keeps a stable of gladiators, among them the enslaved Lucius
Joseph Quinn plays evil co-emperor Geta, a role that has been compared to Joaquin Phoenix's portrayal of traitorous emperor Commodus in Gladiator
Talking to Vanity Fair, Mescal described his character as 'a very, very good general, which can mean a very good killer.'
'I just wanted to be big and strong and look like somebody who can cause a bit of damage when sh*t hits the fan,' he continued about physically preparing for the role.
'I think also, sometimes, one could, in striving for that perfect look, end up looking more like an underwear model than a warrior. And getting in shape gave Mescal a stronger sense of self.
'Muscles start to grow, and that can be deemed aesthetic in certain capacities, but there is something about feeling strong in your body that elicits just a different feeling.
'You carry yourself differently,' the Aftersun actor noted. 'It has an impact on you psychologically in a way that is useful for the film.'
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