Irish actor Paul Mescal has announced he has been cast in Gladiator II after a 30-minute Zoom call.

Mescal made the comments on The Graham Norton Show, which airs on BBC One on Friday. The 28-year-old stars alongside Denzel Washington, who also appeared in Norton's program, in the sequel to the Ridley Scott blockbuster, which is coming to cinemas 24 years after the first film.

Mescal's appearance in Gladiator II marks his first major Hollywood role after a meteoric rise following his breakthrough role in the 2020 BBC adaptation of Sally Rooney's novel Normal People.

Speaking about how he got the role, Mescal told Norton: “Ridley doesn't waste time – I thought there would be camera tests and auditions, but we Zoomed for half an hour, talked about the role for 10 minutes and then 20 minutes over Gaelic.” Football, his dog and his wife.

“I thought there was more, but a few weeks later he called and offered me the role. I think he just follows his instincts on and off set, and I'm very glad it turned out that way.”

After his role in “Normal People,” Mescal starred alongside Olivia Colman in “The Lost Daughter” and Emily Watson in “God's Creatures” and won acclaim for the father-daughter drama “Aftersun.”

“Gladiator” was a global hit in 2000, grossing $460 million worldwide and winning five Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Russell Crowe.

Discussion about a sequel or prequel began in 2001 but stalled. Scott claimed that Crowe wanted to return even though his character was dead and hoped to incorporate a fantastical element into the sequel.

Mescal plays the grandson of Richard Harris' Emperor Marcus Aurelius from the first film, who was killed by his son Commodus, played by Joaquin Phoenix. Crowe's character was also killed by Phoenix at the end of the film.

Crowe has said he has reservations about a sequel in which he doesn't star. In an interview on US podcast Kyle Meredith With…, Crowe said: “I'm a little uncomfortable with the fact that they're doing another one, you know? Because of course I'm dead and have no influence on what's done.

“A few things I've heard make me think, 'No, no, no. That's not part of this particular character's moral journey.' But you know, I can't say anything. This is not my place. I'm 6 feet under the ground. So we’ll see what that’s like.”