Paul Mescal still considers independent movies to be his "bread and butter"

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Paul shared: "My dad showed me 'Gladiator' when I was 13 - I was obsessed with the battle sequences. But 'Aftersun' and things like that [indie movies], that's my bread and butter in terms of what I'm drawn to as an actor.

"But if I was going to make a big film? And Sir Ridley Scott comes asking? Ridley organised a Zoom, which lasted half an hour - he spoke with me for ten minutes about the arc of the story, ten minutes about his dog and ten minutes about Gaelic football, and then it was offered to me."

Paul was determined not to mimic Russell Crowe's award-winning performance in 'Gladiator', the 2000 historical epic film. Instead, Paul leaned on his own experience of shooting independent films.

The actor - who previously starred alongside Daisy Edgar-Jones in the romantic drama series 'Normal People' - shared: "I was like, 'I could go and look at the first film and see what Russell did so excellently.' But that felt like a mistake because that's not my lane.

"If Ridley's entry point to me was something like 'Normal People' and 'Aftersun' and 'All of Us Strangers', I was keen to, where possible, draw a performance style from those films and try to bring it to something bigger."