PAUL MESCAL HAS admitted that meeting King Charles at a Gladiator II premiere in London last week wasn’t on his “list of priorities”.

Gladiator II was released in Irish and UK cinemas last Friday and will open to US cinemas this coming Friday.

The film sees Mescal battle in the Colosseum as a character named Lucis.

Pedro Pascal and Denzel Washington also star in the sequel to the original 2000 blockbuster which starred Russell Crowe.

Last week, King Charles was at the Gladiator II premiere at the Odeon Lux theatre in London’s Leicester Square, and greeted Mescal, as well as Pascal, Washington, and director Ridley Scott.

King Charles greeted the Gladiator II stars Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal and Denzel Washington at the premiere in London.@SkyKatieSpencer reports from the red carpet.https://t.co/B8yRpmY3YT pic.twitter.com/vqVLmqBQKY

— Sky News (@SkyNews) November 13, 2024

Mescal was asked about his first encounter with King Charles by US magazine Variety at a Gladiator II event last night in Los Angeles.

When asked what it was like to meet King Charles, Mescal said: “It’s definitely not something that I thought was in the bingo cards.

“I’m Irish, so it’s not on the list of priorities. But it’s an amazing thing for Ridley [Scott] because I know how important that is for him.”

Paul Mescal on meeting King Charles:

“I’m Irish, so it’s not on the list of priorities. But it’s an amazing thing for Ridley [Scott] because I know how important that is for him.”

(Source: @Variety)
pic.twitter.com/rQ3E1Rl7RL

— Film Updates (@FilmUpdates) November 19, 2024

Mescal was then asked about his conversation with King Charles and replied that he “just nodded along”.

“I found it hard to hear exactly what he was saying, because your head is in such a frenzy, so you’re just kind of nodding along and smiling.”

Meanwhile, Mescal said the film “picks the world of the first Gladiator up and plants it 20 years into the future”.

He added it has the “same energy and spirit of the first one” but that his character’s journey through Ancient Rome “couldn’t be more different” to that of Crowe’s character.

“It balances an honouring of the first film but is very much its own beast,” said Mescal. 

And while the critics have been mixed towards Gladiator II, Mescal’s performance has garnered near universal acclaim.

The Guardian described his performance as “formidable” and “awe-inspiring”.

Meanwhile, in The Journal’s review of Gladiator II, Aoife Barry said Mescal was able to “shine” in the film’s many action sequences.

Gladiator II dominated in the Irish and UK box office also over the weekend, taking in close to €11 million.