Paul Mescal got into fighting form while preparing to film Gladiator II, and now he’s opening up about his diet.
The 28-year-old actor is taking center stage in the long-awaited sequel to the original blockbuster, which starred Russell Crowe.
Big action movies are often associated with muscular body transformation, and Paul opened up about his during a recent interview. In the process, he revealed two things that he would not give up while getting ready.
Keep reading to find out more…
“It’s lots of, like, chicken breasts and heavy lifting,” Paul said while on The Graham Norton Show. “My trainer will not mind me saying this, but my trainer is the biggest man that I have ever seen in my entire life.”
He continued, recalling that the first time they met, his trainer had him strip down to his underwear so that he could inspect his body.
“I’m stood there in my underwear. I’m a little bit hungover, and he just starts circling me like a shark. Just processing,” Paul said. “He goes, ‘Okay. There’s a canvas to work with.’ Then starts basically grading my body parts and goes, ‘The arms we’re gonna struggle with.’”
“It’s a total first world problem,” Paul noted, explaining that he got to work with the top trainer and had meals delivered so that he stayed on his diet.
While he did “everything” that his trainer asked, Paul had to things that he was not willing to give up – smoking and drinking.
““I did everything he asked but I like to drink, and I like to smoke, so I drew a line in the sand where those were concerned,” he said, via Us Weekly.
Gladiator II arrives in theaters on November 22 – check out the trailer!
