If Paul Mescal has any idea of just how much his life is going to change within days, it's clearly not something that daunts him.
Leaning back in his chair with his legs crossed, it's easy smiles and quick barks of laughter between periodic sips of a coffee – sweetened with at least one sugar – as we speak against the backdrop of Sydney Harbour.
This is not, however, a social call – something we're quickly reminded of when a question prompts a shake of the head from the 28-year-old Irish actor and a resigned, "Here we go..."
Watch the video above.
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Paul Mescal, pictured with co-star Fred Hechinger, can't escape one thing even though he largely stays away from looking himself up online. (Nine)To those who watched the emotional rollercoaster that was Normal People, Mescal has been a household name since 2020.
By 2022, he'd become an indie darling with the dagger to the heart that was Aftersun, a status solidified with his performance in 2023's All of Us Strangers opposite Andrew Scott.
When Gladiator II is rolled out to the world from next week, however, Mescal will no longer be a niche celebrity with a small set of loyal fans.
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Like Russell Crowe 24 years before him, Mescal's cult following will soon span the whole world – and there's one thing that comes with the remarkable rise he can't escape even if he wanted to.
Fan edits.
"My sister [singer-songwriter Nell Mescal] sends me some of her favourites, which are like... people are pretty artful with their, um," Mescal, shaking his head, starts to tell 9honey Celebrity in Sydney, before seemingly getting lost for words.
How can one begin to describe such a sensation other than to call it the internet's love language? Mostly, it's light-hearted fun, a way for fans to show their appreciation for their idol and connect with others who feel the same.
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Mescal plays Lucius Verus, the son of Lucilla and Russell Crowe's Maximus Decimus Meridius, in Gladiator II. (Aidan Monaghan)There are, however, some that can cross a line – which Wicked's Cynthia Erivo called out in a divisive statement shared in October, a message that boiled down to the sentence: "I am a real life human being".
Finding his words after burying his head in his tiny coffee cup, Mescal says, "Let me preface it by there's lots of nonsensical edits that are like creepy and weird, and then there's some good ones... Yeah."
Since Gladiator II's first trailer was released – and Mescal's physical transformation was shown off for the first time in earnest – there's been a significant uptick in fan-made videos that splice together what they deem to be his most attractive moments.
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What many won't realise until the film comes out later this month, however, is that Mescal's transformation into Lucius Verus isn't just physical. He's also significantly deepened the timbre of his voice.
Lucius' voice may be deep, but Mescal's reasoning for his creative choice didn't start out as such.
"It's kind of born out of the fact that I hate, you know, when you hear your voice back. I hate the sound of my own voice so much," Mescal laughs as he hides his face behind his hands, rubbing his eyes.
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Mescal, pictured here with Daisy Edgar-Jones in Normal People, rose to indie fame with the 2020 miniseries. (Stan)"Listening to a voice note back or something, I'm like, 'Is that what I sound like?'"
"There's two parts to the question," he continues.
"It's like, I think voice work is like one of the foundational corners of any performance. And I just felt that the more I thought about Lucius... there's like a depth to him emotionally.
"And I was like, if I can reflect this in my voice... and that was just kind of what I kept gravitating towards."
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Mescal, pictured here with producer Michael Pruss, and co-stars Hechinger and Connie Nielsen in Sydney, is on a global press tour promoting the film. (Hanna Lassen/Getty Images)Before we know it, a staffer is signalling our time is almost up, and Mescal turns from bashful to earnest.
It's the most personal question yet, and he's well within his rights to shut it down – but he does the opposite.
"That's the hardest part of the job, I think, is trying to find that balance between the job that you love so much and the important relationships in your life like family, loved ones, friends, partners, all of that," Mescal, who's rumoured to be dating J.J. Abrams' 25-year-old singer-songwriter daughter Gracie Abrams, says.
He's been filming back-to-back projects since his breakout role in 2020, and now on a world tour promoting Gladiator II – his schedule is only going to become more packed after that, with awards season and filming Merrily We Roll Along to follow.
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Mescal took his mother Dearbhla Mescal as his date to the Oscars in 2023. (Getty)So how does he take time for himself and keep his loved ones close when they're physically so far away?
"It's a hard thing to manage, and I don't actually have a proper answer in terms of how you achieve that, but I think it just requires patience with yourself and patience from your loved ones around you, I think," he says.
Patience, and a little sister who's willing to make fun of her brother by sending him his own fan edits.
Gladiator II hits Australian cinemas on November 14.
English (US) ·