Is Paul Mescal A Movie Star?

[just444]

just watched gladiator ii. the difference between an actor and a movie star has never been more apparent lmao
- feral (@ncrmalpeople) November 19, 2024

Gladiator 2 is getting...fine reviews, but a few people noted that lead Paul Mescal was maybe not the right casting for a big action blockbuster role

denzel on the other hand ……………. an actor AND

Comments

[neuers]

Idk, I liked Paul in all his indie movies and I liked him in Gladiator just fine. Yes, he was obviously outshined by Denzel but who isn't?

And I don't think he will be leading blockbusters from now on so, whatever.

Pedro was NOT lifeless, lmao wtf.

[genbu_no_miko24]

I haven't seen the movie yet but I feel like most young actors coming out now want to be seen more as ~serious actor~ (while acting coy about awards) and all more than a movie star but at the same time I think some do want a bit of the limelight.

Paul said he'd be fine doing indies like aftersun for the rest of his life but he also saw Top Gun: Maverick and be up to do that too.

The movie star can be talented but a lot of it I think is reliant on charisma and an enigma-like state. Cause Denzel comes from the 90s A-list and all of them had that it-factor whether you liked them or not. The newcomers seem nice but are also kinda boring and lacking more upfront-ness.

[donaestrangera]

I feel like the current crop of young white male actors are almost all better suited for indie movies than blockbusters but the industry is desperate so will shove anyone with any bit of Internet following into a blockbuster in hopes their fans will show up to see the movie. I felt that way about Timothee in both Wonka and Dune 2 and it sounds like Paul is the same in Gladiator 2. She’s an actress obviously but Anya Taylor-Joy was similarly miscast in Furiosa. She doesn’t have the same physical presence as Charlize.

I agree, they all lack charisma and enigma in part because of social media but in part also because they’re not really being encouraged to have actual personalities… we talked about this in another post but they just pander to their fans and what they think their fans want, while older stars all had strong personalities.

[genbu_no_miko24]

See I think Timmy has more of a likability than Paul and the others cause he does put himself out there. Dune being successful is partially due to his own popularity cause I think back to another Denis Villenueve film -Blade Runner 2049 which had Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford...that's 2 guys with a generational popularity but that movie flopped. Marketing played a part in this but not even Ryan's popularity could get that box office. Dune similarly could've flopped since it has a similar niche following despite having a lot of pop culture shoutouts in other mediums but most people wouldn't know it. I think having popular actors like Timmy and Zendaya really helped it. So compared to his peers he does seem to have that box office and enough fans who'll go see his movies. Dune is also a lot meatier and complex than the Blade Runner universe.

I need to watch Furiosa again cause I thought Anya was good but wonky in some scenes. But Anya doesn't strike me as someone actively chasing movie star status.

[donaestrangera]

yeah, i agree that out of his peers Timothee has the strongest personality, but i also think he's much better suited for indie movies. idk, he def did bring in a lot of box office for Dune 2 but i also think he was just miscast! i would absolutely not be convinced to follow him into battle. his performance was fine up until that point though.

i don't even know if i'm going to bother to see Gladiator 2 but Paul also is just better suited for indie movies.

And Anya, i think she needs to be our period piece queen. she didn't work as an action movie lead for me.

[matsaurus]

I don't think I've seen anything with him in it, but to compliment his acting and commitment and then say but he's not a star feels weird. People can't just be happy I guess.

[jemgirl90]

to compliment his acting and commitment and then say but he's not a star feels weird.

I disagree.

Casey Affleck is an actor

Ben Affleck is a star/ leading man.

Everyone isn't everything and that's ok.

Constructive criticism is needed more often.

I can remember the first time I saw Colin Farrell in " minority report".

That was a star.

To be able to shine next to one of the biggest movie stars in the world was impressive.

This man is an indie actor.

[lone_concertina]

Ooh you bring up Colin and it reminds me he's both an actor AND a star. He will absolutely devastate you in a quiet indie like After Yang then he'll go full camp and show you his movie star appeal in The Gentlemen.

[ginainabottle]

Can’t help but think a woman would not be afforded the same kindness towards failing (seemingly that spectacularly) in a movie this big. People sure love making excuses for white men.

[musicnkisses]

It doesn’t sound like he failed at all. Some people aren’t a movie star, the way that some movie stars aren’t good actors. Jeremy Strong ain’t a movie star but that doesn’t mean he’s a bad actor. Ryan Reynolds is a movie star but idk if you want him doing an introspective drama. That’s why Denzel was mentioned as someone who can do both.

[ginainabottle]

And I never said he’s a bad actor, but he obviously failed if he didn’t deliver the character he was hired to play. An actress would likely not be given the same benefit of not delivering in a movie this big, especially an action film. It’s okay to just say he sucked and is completely devoid of screen presence and charisma to pull this character off, without adding all the addendums.

[musicnkisses]

Saying he’s devoid of presence and he sucks is basically saying he can’t act tho.

I disagree tbh. We have a bunch of actresses rn who don’t have movie star quality yet are still being allowed to lead movies. ATJ, Daisy Edgar Jones, Jenna Ortega, I might even add Zendaya in there. The problem is the fact the young millennial/Gen-z cohort of actors don’t have that quality.

[eowyn]

Everyone in this movie suffers. It's a terrible script and nobody is really given much to do - they all begin one way and are exactly the same by the time they die or the credits roll.

Denzel is getting attention because at least his role allows him to have fun, which literally no other character gets to do. But he also goes basically nowhere except along a predictable story track. Which is fine of it's done well, but it just isn't.

I love Pedro but even he gets absolutely nothing to do and there's so little he can make of such a one dimensional role.

We as an audience are given no reason to really care about Lucius. I'm not sure if that can all be blamed on Paul though, because the script gives him nothing but tired old cliches. Most of the time he just looks bored, intermittently interrupting this to scream (he screams a lot, male rage, who cares).

This is honestly one of the worst films ever made.