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

[fernandocolunga]

the most fatal may be his utter inability to seem like someone other guys would follow to their deaths

lmao that’s a big ass ask

[belle_chouette]

it’s a big ass ask for an actor to actually act like the character they were cast as? come on now 😭

[fernandocolunga]

Ummm there’s a difference between playing idk a lawyer and someone who’d you’d follow into death bc I cannot think of a single actor who’d convincingly pull that off

[malorn]

the only ones I can think of are actually already dead lol (Poitier, Newman, Peck, and adding Katharine Hepburn)

[winonaforever]

He was absolutely dull and lifeless in the movie. He's a good actor, he doesn't have the charisma to inspire a rebellion. But I think his lackluster performance really put in perspective how great Russell Crowe was in the original.

[walterwhiteh2o]

Kind of OT, since I haven't seen Gladiator II, but I feel that way about Timothée Chalamet in Dune. I've seen the first movie so far, but I think he has no screen presence, he's bland in it. Rebecca Ferguson stole the show in that movie

[floatinglately]

i rly think if the movie star ecosystem worked the way it used to rebecca ferguson would be a proper A-lister by now. between dune & her mission impossible turns holding her own against famous charisma supernova tom cruise i feel like she’s more than proven she can do that blockbuster presence where the performance feels subtle but not small

[krystiocracy]

I was actually convinced by Timmy for the first time ever in the second half of Dune II haha

[kaiserschmarrn]

I thought he gave a great performance actually in a very thankless role. Maybe the German dub gave him more zest? I'll have to watch the original at some point to compare...

[howlin_wolf_66]

I think this is a fair assessment.