Paul Mescal answered candidly when the Irish actor was asked what it was like to meet King Charles III back in November during the London premiere of Gladiator II
Paul Mescal is from Ireland
Irish actor Paul Mescal gave a hilarious response when he was asked what it was like to meet King Charles III in a resurfaced interview with Variety from the Los Angeles premiere of Gladiator II back in November.
The Co Kildare native met the British monarch during the London premiere of the Ridley Scott-directed sequel, which he stars in as Lucius, along with co-stars Denzel Washington, Connie Nielsen, and Pedro Pascal.
Their interaction was caught on video, showing the actor waiting patiently with his hands together and chin low before greeting the King by shaking his hand and exchanging pleasantries.
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Paul gave a toothy smile before saying, “Nice to meet you,” and asking, “How are you?” King Charles then asked him if he played the main character, which he confirmed for the royal.
The Irish actor met the British monarch at the London premiere of Gladiator II
Later at the Los Angeles premiere, Variety reporter Marc Malkin asked the Irishman, who was recently cast as Paul McCartney in the upcoming Beatles biopic series, “What was it like meeting the King? Had you met him before?”
“How wild is that?” the reporter asked.
“How wild is it?” Paul began his response. “I mean, it’s definitely not something that I thought was in the bingo cards. I’m, like, Irish, so it’s not kind of on the list of priorities,” he said candidly.
He pivoted, “But, uh, it’s an amazing thing for Ridley [Scott] because I know how important that is for him, so to see his film celebrated in that context was pretty special,” referring to the film’s British director.
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“What do you say to the King?” the reporter pressed on. “You just kind of nod along and err… I found it kind of hard to hear what he was saying because your head is in such a frenzy. So you’re kind of just nodding along and smiling,” Paul replied diplomatically.
The Irish have a historically complicated relationship with the British monarchy. The country gained independence from the U.K. a little over a hundred years ago. As someone from Ireland, Paul doesn’t necessarily have ties to the Royal family the way the Brits do.
In fact, after he was nominated for an Emmy for Normal People in 2020, several English publications, including the Guardian and the Daily Mail, incorrectly labeled him as British. Paul clarified the misidentification by promptly tweeting, “I’m Irish.”
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