Paul Mescal attends the “Gladiator II” premiere in Los Angeles.Photo:Jesse Grant/Getty
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(741x293:743x295):format(webp)/paul-mescal-gladiator-II-los-angeles-premiere-111924-1-a5853eee681a4ec091a7fe44fb0e789a.jpg)
Jesse Grant/Getty
Paul Mescalis ready forGladiator III.
On Monday, Nov. 18, the actor, 28, spoke to reporters at theGladiator IIpremiere afterparty and revealed he would love to don his sword and sandals for a third installment of the historical epic.
“I think so,” Mescal said of returning to his character Lucius at the TCL Chinese Theater & Roosevelt Hotel.
“If there’s going to be aGladiator III, I hope I’m in it.”
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Paul Mescal plays Lucius in “Gladiator II”.Cuba Scott/Paramount Pictures
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(999x0:1001x2):format(webp)/paul-mescal-gladiator-II-101824-bebd548ab4584a46aedc353fb08775d7.jpg)
Cuba Scott/Paramount Pictures
Filled with anger, Lucius then looks to his past to help him return Rome’s glory to its citizens.
The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!
Asked if he could relate to his character’s rage with his career journey, Mescal said, “I mean, rage isn’t useful with acting, I think.”
“I think I felt that support at drama school. I was looking, I went to a drama school where it wasn’t about breaking the actors down,” he continued. “It was a drama school that was kind of based on love and support of the young people at the center of it, so very different to Macrinus but there’s a similar kind of message in there somewhere I think.”
Paul Mescal plays Lucius in “Gladiator II”.Aidan Monaghan/Paramount Pictures
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(999x0:1001x2):format(webp)/paul-mescal-gladiator-II-101824-1-7cd795ce23034315a56ffbc450390fda.jpg)
Aidan Monaghan/Paramount Pictures
The star also revealed that his scenes with costar Connie Nielsen were some of his favorites in theRidley Scottmovie.
“Me and Connie kind of unconsciously stayed apart before we began filming so we came into that scene with very different … we wanted very different outcomes from it,” he told reporters.
“There was a really robust rehearsal with Ridley and Connie and I was like, ‘This is exactly where I want to be.’ I want to be in the weeds with a great actor and one of the great directors ever.”
Gladiator IIis in theaters Nov. 22.
source: people.com