Paul Mescal has announced he has been cast in Gladiator II after a 30-minute Zoom call with director Ridley Scott.

The Irish actor is set to star opposite Denzel Washington in the sequel to 2000’s Gladiator, which hits cinemas next month.

Speaking to the BBC’s Graham Norton about the casting process, Mescal joked: “Ridley doesn’t waste time.”

“I thought there would be camera tests and auditions, but we zoomed for half an hour, talked about the role for 10 minutes and then 20 minutes about Gaelic football, his dog and his wife.”

Mescal continued, “I thought there was more, but he called a few weeks later to offer me the role.”

“I think he just follows his instincts, both on and off set, and I’m very glad it turned out that way.”

Of course, when Mescal interviewed Scott for the role, the director and the film studio were already aware of his acting abilities, his box office power, and his popularity with awards shows.

The actor rose to fame in 2020 with the BBC adaptation of Sally Rooney’s novel Normal People, which became an early TV hit of the lockdown pandemic.

He then appeared in All of Us Strangers, Foe and The Lost Daughter and was nominated for an Oscar in 2022 for his performance in Aftersun.

In Gladiator II, Mescal plays the grandson of the Emperor of Rome, played by Richard Harris in the first film.

Mescal’s character Lucius is forced into slavery after an invasion by Roman soldiers and must fight as a gladiator in the Colosseum to restore Rome’s glory.

When asked how he prepared for the role, Mescal said, “I ate a lot of chicken and lifted heavy things.”

“I worked with a trainer who circled me like a shark… He went into town and I saw him every day. It was fun.”

Another of Norton’s guests, Eddie Redmayne, also spoke about his physical training for The Day of the Jackal, joking: “I completely disagree with Paul – it wasn’t fun, it was terrible.”

The original Gladiator film grossed $465m (£358m) worldwide and won five Oscars, including best picture and best actor for Russell Crowe.

Mescal’s interview on The Graham Norton Show airs on BBC One and iPlayer at 10.40pm on Friday.