Paul Mescal couldn't help but gush about his Irish pride on the red carpet in Dublin on Thursday evening for the Irish premiere of his upcoming "Gladiator II."
Mescal, from Maynooth in Co Kildare, was all smiles as he greeted fans and signed autographs on Thursday evening at the Light House Cinema in the Smithfield area of Dublin.
Ahead of the premiere event, Light House Cinema said it was "thrilled" that the film's star was going to be in attendance.
Accept no imitations - Paul Mescal is here! pic.twitter.com/Lq7E9BYXYR
— Light House Cinema (@LightHouseD7) November 7, 2024
In "Gladiator II," the sequel to Ridley Scott's 2000 film "Gladiator," Mescal stars as Lucius who "must look to his past to find strength and honor to return the glory of Rome to its people."
The "Gladiator II" lead role is just the latest step in the Kildare man's impressive rise to fame. While he famously starred in a commercial for Irish sausages earlier in his career, Mescal shot to stardom with his lead role as Connell Waldron in the television adaptation of Irish author Sally Rooney's novel "Normal People." He later went on to land an Oscar nomination for his role in "Aftersun."
November 7, 2024: Paul Mescal at the Irish premiere of "Gladiator II" at the Light House Cinema in Dublin. (RollingNews.ie)
"This is absolutely insane," an overwhelmed Mescal told Virgin Media News on the red carpet in Dublin on Thursday. "Words are difficult at the moment."
He added: "I'm trying to remind myself that this is a moment in time for me and my family and try to celebrate that as much as possible."
Ahead of the release of Gladiator 2, Paul Mescal has stepped onto the red carpet in Dublin this evening for the Irish premiere at the Lighthouse Cinema in Smithfield. The sequel to the blockbuster Gladiator is set to hit cinemas later this month.#Gladiator2 #PaulMescal pic.twitter.com/yCGDr8IOW9
— Virgin Media News (@VirginMediaNews) November 7, 2024
Speaking separately with RTÉ, Mescal said: "I'm just fundamentally proud to be Irish so to feel this when you come home, it's very difficult to put into words, to be honest."
Asked to elaborate, he continued: "This is where I'm from, I went to drama school here. ... Whatever is in the water at the moment for Irish actors it must be coming from within these borders.
"I don't know. You're always proudest to bring the work home to where you belong."
He added: "Not just me, but Irish actors returning home, it's such an important moment for us, we do talk about it collectively. It's always a place that we want to bring our films.
"I think we should be very proud of ourselves, not just as actors, but the creative output we're putting out to the world at the moment, we're punching above our weight."
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