Hollywood star Paul Mescal admits it was “fun” to be unleashed to play Lucius in the upcoming historical epic, Gladiator II and had to “draw a line” about drinking and smoking.
“I ate a lot of chicken and lifted heavy things,” Mescal said on “The Graham Norton Show,” reports people.com.
While preparing to play the former royal who was forced into slavery, the native of Kildare, Ireland, worked “with a trainer who circled me like a shark and said, ‘There’s a canvas to work with.’ . “
Mescal became so muscular that his co-star Peter Pascal gave him a nickname.
“I call him Brick Wall Paul… He’s gotten so strong. I’d rather be thrown off a building than fight him again,” Pascal told Vanity Fair in July.
Mescal told Norton his trainer “went to town and I saw him every day. It was fun.”
However, Mescal said he has a few caveats when it comes to his fitness regimen.
“I did everything he asked, but I like to drink and I like to smoke, so I drew a line in the sand as far as they were concerned.”
Mescal flaunted his abs in the film’s trailer, where he battles a rhinoceros, among others, in the famous Roman Colosseum.
But another of Norton’s guests disagreed with Mescal’s assessment that the workout is “fun” – Eddie Redmaynewho recently underwent his own physical transformation, being shredded to play an assassin in the series “Day of the Jackal”.
“I deeply disagree with Paul – it wasn’t fun, it was awful,” the actor said.
“You read a scene in the script that says, ‘He’s topless and curvy and ripped,’ and you think, ‘Oh, here comes the chicken diet.’ “
Saoirse Ronan and Denzel Washington, who also stars in Gladiator II, also appeared in the episode. Mescal said he was intimidated to meet the legendary Washington, 69.
“It was a big day of my life – it was amazing. I spent the first day thinking, “I have to introduce myself to him,” and sat there for a few minutes before deciding, “Not today.” The next day I decided to be a brave boy!”