GLADIATOR 2 star Paul Mescal has revealed he’ll quit Hollywood blockbusters if the pressures of fame become too much.
The Irish actor, 28, admitted “I’m not going to push through that” as he spoke to DJ Chris Evans, 58, about the pitfalls of fame.
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Paul addressed losing his “anonymity” due to his high-profile acting career and frankly added: “If that becomes overwhelming, I will just stop making big films like this.”
It comes as the Normal People actor – who revealed he was a quivering wreck when he first met Gladiator 2 director Sir Ridley Scott – will be seen in what many have dubbed “the best movie of the year.”
The Sun claims Paul, who plays Lucius, will win fans over with his epic fight scenes as he tackles giant rhinos and monkeys withn his bare hands in the long-awaited movie sequel.
Yet in an interview on The Chris Evans Breakfast Show with The National Lottery on Virgin Radio UK on Wednesday, he was open about tackling the rocketing fame the role will provide.
All Of Us Strangers star Paul told the broadcaster: “There’s enough information out there about how damaging this career can be to people’s fundamental life.
“So I’m not going to take a risk if it comes to that. I’m not going to push through that.”
He could well have been referring to late Aussie actor Heath Ledger, who died aged 28 in 2008.
He accidentally overdosed on prescription drugs on January 22, 2008, during the editing of The Dark Knight, and midway through shooting his final movie, The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus.
Actress Brittany Murphy’s screen career also began to unravel prior to her tragic passing aged 32.
Earlier in the interview, Chris asked: “You’re about to become the most famous actor in the world for at least a few weeks, and you’ll probably become one of the most famous actors in the world for the next few years.
“Do you make plans for that psychologically? How do you figure that out? It’s sensible to have a strategy, I would imagine. Or am I being boring?”
Paul candidly admitted: “Not that you’re being boring, but the prospect of that is boring to me, and I’m not saying that in a kind of like self-protective way.”
After Chris told him he was “measured and stable” Paul replied; “I always laugh when people refer to me as stable because I love that I present as that.
“I think my team would strongly disagree with you. One of the least stable people I know is myself.
“But in the sense of well, I know that… I’ve been this mental my entire life, so I know that it’s not informed by this madness. I think I’m fundamentally mad.
“But having said that, if all of this part goes away and I’m not stopped in the street, but I get to keep doing my job, I don’t care. And I mean that sincerely.
“I love this job and if the by-product of it sometimes or a symptom of it is, is that you lose a little bit of anonymity, great. And if that becomes overwhelming, I will just stop making big films like this and I’ll do something else as long as I can get to act.”
The Lost Daughter actor added: “But also, I basically… I don’t have a plan because I don’t want to kind of foreshadow anything.”
Gladiator 2 will be released in cinemas in the UK on November 22.
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