Some celebrities become awestruck when they meet the British royals for the first time. But not Paul Mescal, who was rather unimpressed in meeting King Charles III during the London premiere of Gladiator II at Leicester Square on Nov. 13.
The Irish star, who plays Lucius Verus in the film, basically admitted that he could care less if he met the sovereign or not. As is customary for royal premieres, the cast of the Ridley Scott-directed masterpiece lined up on the red carpet to meet the monarch before they entered Odeon Luxe Cinema. He was later asked if he felt nervous at all meeting Charles to which he admitted: “I’m actually not as nervous as I thought I was gonna be” and shared his excitement for the monarch to see the film.
Mescal, 28, was further asked “what was it like meeting the King” and if he “had met him before” during a red carpet interview with Variety. He shared that he had “never met the King” before the Gladiator II premiere and when asked “how wild is that?” he replied: “I mean it’s definitely not something that was on my bingo cards. I’m, like, Irish – so it’s not kind of on the list of priorities.”
But he gave a much more diplomatic answer about its significance to Scott. He shared: “But it’s an amazing thing for Ridley because I know how important that is for him. So, to see his film celebrated in that context was pretty special.”
It’s unclear if the interviewer fully understood what Mescal was trying to say about his personal feelings toward the Royals, but undeterred he asked: “What do you say to the king?” to which Mescal gave a rather awkward response. He said: “You just kind of nod along. I found it hard to hear exactly what he was saying because your head is in such a kind of frenzy. So, you’re kind of nodding along, just smiling.”
Over at X, fans criticized the interviewer for asking a tone-deaf question to an Irish person given the ugly history between Britain and Ireland. One wrote: “Might as well ask a Palestinian how excited they would be to meet Netanyahu” and a second commented: “Imagine asking an Irishman what meeting the King is like. Might as well just walk up to a Chinese and ask them what they’d think about meeting the Emperor of Japan. Pick up a history book for your own sake!”
“He doesn’t care about the king you ignorant that. Not everyone is obsessed with the dumb totem pole of authority worship. He’s a total dunce moronic king if ever there was one to boot,” a third chimed in.
Mescal is not the only Irish though who had the same reaction to meeting British royalty. Peaky Blinders star Cillian Murphy once met Prince Harry during the Dunkirk premiere in London in 2017 and also had to just nod along to whatever the duke was saying after giving him the side eye.
Meanwhile, others thought Mescal “handled that tone deaf question like a pro” and one said “he didn’t give any headlines but didn’t lie either.” But there were those who didn’t appreciate the actor’s response with one saying: “Irish people are so pathetic” and a second called him a “hypocrite” given that he chose to live in England (having lived in London since 2020) and so “should show a little respect for the country where he lives.” So, just another peaceful day of reasoned discussion on social media.