Paul Mescal reveals he became so muscular he felt his body 'could inflict real damage' after intense training sessions for Gladiator II

Paul Mescal has revealed he became so ripped he felt his body 'could inflict real damage' after his intense training sessions for Gladiator II.

The actor, 28, explained that after working out with a fitness coach, riding horses and learning to fight, he began to feel strong and powerful.

The star, who had no previous experience of body building or working out, transformed himself for the role in Ridley Scott's film.

He told The Sun : 'You start feeling like your body can inflict damage, which is weird.

'It changes the way you move and operate. And that's a fun kind of place to live when it's make-believe.'

The actor, who rose to fame as Connel Waldron in the BBC 's lockdown smash hit Normal People, plays the son of Russell Crowe's legendary Maximus.

Although the character is long-since dead and buried, it is vengeful Lucius (Paul) who must fight for his liberty in the film after being taken into slavery and ripped away from his wife and daughter by general Marcus (Pedro Pascal).

Gladiator II takes place several decades after the first instalment, and features Lucius (the son of Connie Nielsen's Lucilla) who is now living in Numidia, a region of northern Africa .

Although he was sent to Numidia as a child, the film follows Lucius' return to Rome to reunite with his mother—and coming into conflict as he does so.

The film, which was 20 years in the making has been a hit with critics and fans have praised Paul's performance.

But the star revealed on The Graham Norton Show that there was a lot of work to make him ready to play such an iconic role .

Of the regime that turned him into a Roman hunk, Paul told Graham: 'I ate a lot of chicken and lifted heavy things. I was working with a trainer who circled me like a shark and said 'There is a canvas to work with''.

'He went to town, and I saw him every day, It was fun,' before revealing he didn't totally embrace the strict rules.

'I did everything he asked but I like to drink, and I like to smoke so I drew a line in the sand where those were concerned'.

'I was petrified that they were going to take away everything, like drinking and I smoke . Everything fun,' he said.

Paul went on to say he asked his fitness trainer Tim Blakeley to help him work drinking and smoking into his rigorous training regime.

'I very earnestly was like, 'Look, Tim, I'm going to keep drinking and smoking for a little bit if I can,'' Paul recalled.

'He very kindly incorporated them, not into the workout routine, but just into my life.'

Earlier this year, footage of Paul's Gladiator workout was widely circulated on TikTok and showed the actor doing dumbbell shoulder raises for a solid 23 seconds.

In an interview with Capital FM, Paul praised his 'great trainer' for helping him build his physique for the film as well as a team of nutritionists—who told him when and what to eat.

Sending a message to fans who looked up to his new build, Paul added: 'I had the best trainer in the world, a studio and a production supporting me through it...

'You have to make an audience believe that this is someone who would survive intensive violence throughout the film.

'And you're not going to survive that as someone whose running around Hackney.'

And it seems to have paid off as Paul grew more confident as filming went on.

He explained that as the shoot progressed he was desperate to be allowed to do bigger and better stunts.

He explained that he had to work very hard to persuade director Ridley to let him perform a dangerous jump on to a horse.

He says: 'I'd rehearsed it for three, four, five weeks in the lead-up to it.

'And then as we were getting closer to filming it, Ridley got nervous about me coming off the horse.'

As a result, just a week before the terrifying stunt was due to be filmed, the legendary director pulled Paul aside and told him ' No f***ing way you're doing that stuff'.

Paul added that he was devastated not to be allowed to have a go and after pleading with the Hollywood titan, Ridley finally relented but warned the star that if it went wrong it would cost the production a fortune.

The Irish star explained that Ridley warned him that if he fell of the horse, he owed him two Bentleys but luckily for Paul all went smoothly.

Paul went on to reveal that he didn't actually audition for the much coveted role, but landed it after a 30-minute zoom call with director Ridley Scott.

'Ridley does not waste time – I thought there would be camera tests and auditions, but we zoomed for half an hour, spoke for 10 mins about the part and then 20 minutes about Gaelic football, his dog, and his wife'.

'I thought there would be more, but he called a few weeks later to offer me the part. I think he just goes by instinct on set and off and I'm very glad that's the way it went.'