Gladiator 2’s Connie Nielsen talks about how Paul Mescal brings a ‘deeper story’ from Russell Crowe

Starring instead Gladiator 2 – Goes to Normal People and Aftersun – released in UK cinemas tomorrow (Friday 15 November) star Paul Mescal.

In the first film, Spencer Treat plays Clark’s childhood character, Lucius, who now returns to Rome seeking revenge.

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Although there are clear similarities between the characters of Maximus and Lucius (the latter even turns out to be the former’s son), they are both slightly different types of heroes, and this was something returning star Connie Nielsen noted in a recent exclusive interview. RadioTimes.com.

“I think Russell brought…a sort of glamor to the role,” he explained. “What Paul brings to the role is a deeper story, the story of an abandoned child, of someone subjected to incredible injustice, and he brings such intensity and emotion to the role of Lucius.

“And at the same time, it’s like he’s a brawler, someone who will continue to get back up no matter what. You know, you get that underdog quality that I don’t think Maximus necessarily has.”

He added: “Maximus was definitely a general, you know, he’s been a slave, he’s been a gladiator. But here we have someone who had to survive from the very beginning, from the age of 10, he had to survive, he’s a different character but less heroic to adapt.” “It’s not, it’s very moving and emotionally moving.”

Of course, Nielsen plays Lucilla (Lucius’ mother) in the film, and the pair share some key scenes throughout the film as they reunite after 16 years.

And interestingly, Nielsen explained that he and Mescal chose not to discuss these scenes and the mother/child dynamic before filming.

“No, we absolutely did everything we could to avoid this problem,” he explained. “Because we both felt it instinctively… it was like it was one of those things, it was a balloon – you don’t let the air out of the balloon – and we both knew it was going to be explosive.

“And basically, even Ridley was very… walking around very cautiously, (he) basically set up a camera there and set up a camera to capture everything he could and then he let us go!”

Gladiator II comes to theaters on Friday, November 15, 2024.

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