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

[mammary_glands]

"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"

This is what Ridley Scott does. He only casts whoever is hot at any given moment. He doesn't give a shit if they actually suit the role or not. See: Orlando Bloom being horribly miscast as Balian in Kingdom of Heaven. In a movie full of heavy hitters, he sticks out like a sore thumb. These movies succeed despite this, though, because no one is going to a Ridley Scott blockbuster for the "star". It's about the spectacle.

[manu19]

Was he hot before this movie? I personally didn’t even know he existed until now

[weighty_ghost]

He was nominated for an Oscar last year…

[kaiserschmarrn]

Agreed, though I didn't think Paul Mescal in this was anything approaching Orlando Bloom levels. He just gives a more internal performance than Russell and the writing for his character is paper thin. But he does hold his own well enough. If anything, it seems to me that film making has moved away from facilitating the kind of iconic performances we used to see at the center of epics because those kinds of moments with the swelling music and push in would be seen as cheesy or hokey today, so everything is a little more restrained in the framing of heroes and only the villains still get to have fun. It's a by-product of society's disdain for sincerity. Thankfully, Ridley's spectacle doesn't rely on iconicity alone and can still function when mixing the naturalistic with the absurd.

[dnttllhrry]

Oh yikes. Paul is an amazing actor, maybe he thought this was his through line into mainstream blockbusters. But he is more of a character actor.

[jojito]

We live in different times... we're not gonna have movie stars like we had before.
No one of this generation has Will Smith, Tom Cruise, Denzel, Jim Carey, Julia, Russell or Sandra levels of charisma. Studios used to make expensive films that functioned like star vehicles, so they needed people with not only talent but also magnetism.

These days the real star is IP, so casting has become less important in terms of presence. Paul and Timmy are good actors and while Timmy surprised me in Dune, he is much better in smaller films.

[purrple_267]

These reviewers are way more positive than anyone in my circles lol. Literally the only thing someone could name they liked about the film were the costumes.

[manu19]

Kept thinking he looks like an adult version of Malfoy from Harry Potter but somehow only in the movie