Meet the 'Gladiator II' Heartthrobs: Paul Mescal, Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal

Much like the rest of us, after watching Normal People, director Ridley Scott was struck by Paul Mescal's emotional, gut-wrenching, wildly impactful performance as Connell—a sensitive jock turned literature student at Trinity College who struggles with authenticity in his social life, grapples with expressing raw emotions to friends and romantic interests, and endures a deep depression following a close friend's suicide.

Aside from his masterful stint as Connell, Mescal is also beloved by the Internet, critics, and the general public for his emotional appearances in films like All Of Us Strangers and Aftersun, his trend-setting street style and his wonderfully charismatic, yet humble public persona. 

In Gladiator II, Mescal stars as Lucius, Commodus' nephew and a viciously-talented gladiator who reveres the late Maximus. As the son of Lucilla (played by Connie Nielsen in both the original film and the upcoming release), he is a fierce warrior and a frequent presence in the fighting arena. 

"I watched this show called Normal People. It’s unusual for me, but I saw one and thought, that’s interesting," Scott said in an interview with Deadline. "These actors are really good I watched the whole goddamn show and thought, damn. So this came up at a time when I need a 23-year-old, 24-year-old to take up the mantle of Lucius. And I just said, you want to do it? He said, yeah."

As a former rugby prodigy, Mescal is no stranger to the intensive training the role of Lucius required, but for him, that was only part of the struggle in conveying Scott's lead role. "Of course there’s a physical robustness required for the character, but past that, I’m not interested," Mescal said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. "This guy’s got to fight and got to be a beast. And whatever that looks and feels like is right for me, is what it’s going to be. Sometimes I see films and I’m like, ‘That person doesn’t look real.’"

Yet another one of the Internet's favorite heartthrobs, Pedro Pascal, makes a welcome appearance in Gladiator II as Marcus Acacius, a seasoned leading gladiator who is expected to battle Mescal's Lucius.

Although little is known about the scope of his character beyond the duty of general, fans are overjoyed to see the actor take on another major role—which is the latest in a series of ultra-viral characters, think The Last of Us' Joel and The Mandalorian's Din Djarin, portrayed by Pascal. 

Two-time Academy Award winner Denzel Washington joins the cast of Gladiator II as Macrinus, a gladiator-turned-arms dealer. Although Washington is famously quite selective about the projects he signs on to, one meeting with Ridley Scott, director and writer of Gladiator II, was all the convincing he needed. 

“He likes to actually see them fight and it evolves that that’s where he came from,” Scott said in a Deadline interview regarding Washington's character. “He was captured in North Africa, and evolved into a free man because he was a good gladiator. But he hides that because also he’s now realizing the potential of his actual power.”

Following the reveal of Macrinus' look in the film, fans of the legendary actor have taken to social media to share their major feelings on the actor's physical transformation for the film. When asked about Mescal and Pascal's performances In a September interview with Variety, Washington stated: "Not good. Great. Both of them. It’s a hard act to follow, and Paul pulled it off. He’s his own gladiator. I didn’t have to do anything but this [sips water with pinky up]."   

Devoted fans of L'OFFICIEL cover star Joseph Quinn did a double-take when imagery of his fresh, new look for Gladiator II was released. In a strawberry blonde-bordering-on ginger haircut, the actor has shed his famous long locks—as seen on Stranger Things' Eddie Munson—and even his recent closely-cropped cut for A Quiet Place: Day One. 

The October cover star took on the role in Gladiator II of the scheming Emperor Geta—offering fans both new and old a glimpse of his wide range when it comes to characterization. With lighter-hued eyebrows, a startlingly serious stare, and his new hairstyle, Quinn effortlessly looks the part of a sinister emperor set on achieving his goals. When sitting down with L'OFFICIEL, he was anything but sinister, gushing about the opportunity to work with Washington saying, “It was literally undeniable; I would not have been able to deny that opportunity.”  

Although Barry Keoghan was originally slated to play Emperor Caracalla, the Irish actor ended up having to drop out of the monumental film due to scheduling conflicts, but luckily for fans of the original film, Fred Hechinger picked up the role in his stead. Although he gained traction as a young actor in films like Eighth Grade and the Fear Street trilogy, Hechinger has pivoted to an entirely new world of cinema, as seen in Gladiator II and Kraven The Hunter, his other upcoming project. 

In Gladiator II, the 24-year-old actor plays Emperor Caracalla, brother to Joseph Quinn's Emperor Geta. Amid a slowly crumbling Roman Empire, the two take up the joint mantle of emperor to attempt to patch up the legendary civilization. 

With the release of the official Gladiator II trailer, longtime fans and new viewers alike are ready for new characters to obsess over from their favorite heartthrobs, who appeared in the short preview as warriors, generals, and emperors alike. 

While viewers were eager to see snippets of the highly-anticipated battle scenes the first film was known for, the trailer also provided some much-needed context in terms of how Mescal's character, Lucius, fits into the story. From his mother, Lucius inherits Maximus' ring, which becomes an important symbol of his dreams of freeing Rome from the tyrannical rule of the fraternal emperors. 

The trailer also elucidated both Pascal and Washington's roles in the film further. In just a few short clips, it was revealed that Pascal acts as a powerful general caught between the might of the Roman empire and the burgeoning rebellion, while Washington's Macrinus is a former enslaved warrior turned champion gladiator who acts as a mentor and leader to Lucius.

From heated, gory battles—one in particular, fought atop a boat in the middle of the flooded Colosseum—to a complex backstory and a sense of purpose for each and every major character, Gladiator II seems to promise something for every viewer, including those who watched the original film in theaters 24 years ago to those who grew up in the digital age. While not a steamy on-screen character, the film's director, Ridley Scott, who has headed some of the world's favorite films from Blade Runner to the original Gladiator recently stated in a profile with the New York Times "I feel alive when I’m doing something at this level,” he said. “I don’t call it stress, I call it adrenaline. And a bit of adrenaline is good for you.” Similar to Scott, eager fans have been having similar bouts of adrenaline when discussing the upcoming film and its cast.

In the final weeks before the official Gladiator II release on November 22, 2024, the excitement around the film has been bubbling as Mescal, Washington, Pascal, Quinn, and Hechinger continue to tease the soon-to-be blockbuster while dressed to the nines.