Paul Mescal revealed he was initially supposed to wear a wig in “Gladiator II” but shared why he opted against it.
While recently chatting with “Wicked” star Ariana Grande for Variety’s “Actors on Actors” series, Mescal, who stars as Lucius in the Ridley Scott-directed “Gladiator” sequel, explained why he couldn’t bear to sport a wig after showing up for a fitting.
In a clip posted by Variety on its TikTok account Tuesday, Mescal revealed that he’s “not a fan” of wigs while recalling his first fitting as being “dodgy.”
After Grande asked him to describe what the wigs that he tried on looked like, he replied, “They were big.”
The Irish actor added, “It was just — I don’t have a head for wigs.”
Mescal went on to explain that his issue with the wigs extended beyond just looks.
Noting that it had “nothing to do with” the makeup and hair team on set, which he called “the best in the world,” Mescal said he believed the wigs would have affected his ability to focus on acting out the film’s choreographed fight sequences.
“I don’t want [the hair and makeup crew] coming in and fixing the things that are falling out of the back of my head [from the wig moving around],” he said.
Despite his shaky start with the wigs, the “Aftersun” actor shared that “seeing myself in the costume” made him pumped to star in the film.
“[It] was one of the moments where I was like, ‘I’m doing ‘Gladiator II,’” he said.
Elsewhere in the clip, Mescal opened up about the physical changes he underwent to get geared up for the role.
“I initially decided when I’d first been cast — which was very naive — I was like, ‘I’m just going to go for normal “Gladiator,”’” he said. “Like, ‘The way my body is, is the way my body is.’”
Mescal continued, “And then I was like, ‘That’s not the film we’re making.’ So I went into the gym, but I hadn’t tried on the costumes yet, and I think, when I put the costumes on, that was the moment for me where I was like, ‘This is miles away from anything I’ve ever done.’”
“Gladiator II,” which also stars Denzel Washington and Pedro Pascal, is in theaters.
Watch a clip from Mescal and Grande’s interview below.