Gladiator 2 lead reveals he ‘ran away’ on his first day on set with Hollywood icon co-star

Gladiator 2 actor Paul Mescal has opened up about his first meeting with co-star and Hollywood legend Denzel Washington

The hugely-anticipated Gladiator sequel is right around the corner and on track for its November 15 release date, 24 years after the original film was released.

This time around, actor Paul Mescal is leading the cast and prior to the film’s release, he has opened up about how nervous he was about meeting co-star and Hollywood legend Denzel Washington.

While appearing on The Graham Norton Show, Paul revealed: “The first day that I was actually working with Denzel, he was up in the box, and I was rolling around fighting some monkeys or something. And at the end of the day, I was like, ‘God I must go up and introduce myself’.

“I was standing at the bottom of the steps, and I stood there for a couple of minutes, and I said, ‘Not today’.

“So I bailed out and I ran to my dressing room and was like, ‘Tomorrow I’m going to be a brave boy.’”

However, Paul managed to muster up the courage and ended up introducing himself to Denzel on the second day on set.

He continued: “The second day, I waited at the bottom of the stairs, and I was like, ‘Just gotta stay put’.

“And Denzel walks down, and it was like, ‘Oh, God, here we go’. And he shook my hand, and I just felt extraordinary.”

The first Gladiator film, released in 2000, featured Russell Crowe as Maximus Decimus Meridius, a Hispano-Roman general who is forced into slavery and seeks revenge against Emperor Commodus (played by Joaquin Phoenix) for the murder of his family and the previous emperor.

When Ridley Scott’s epic was released nearly a quarter of a century ago, it raked in $465.4 million worldwide, making it the second highest-grossing film of that year, just behind Mission: Impossible 2.

The film received widespread critical acclaim, with praise for the acting, direction, cinematography, production design and musical score.

It went on to scoop five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Costume Design and Best Actor for Russell.

The film was a joint production by DreamWorks Pictures, Universal Pictures, Scott Free Productions and Red Wagon Entertainment.

This time around, Paul will portray an adult Lucius Verus, Maximus’ son, as the movie takes place several years after the events of the first.

Lucius becomes a gladiator when his home is invaded by the Roman army under General Marcus Acacius, during the rule of co-emperors Caracalla and Geta.

As well as Paul and Denzel, the film also stars Pedro Pascal, Joseph Quinn and Fred Hechinger.

Connie Nielsen and Derek Jacobi have reprized their roles from the first film, as well as Lucius’ mother Lucilla and Senator Gracchus.

Gladiator 2 releases in cinemas on November 15.