Another Irish actor is set to replace Cillian Murphy as Hollywood's favorite leading man . The Cork actor received global acclaim for his outstanding portrayal of physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer , the creator of the atomic bomb in Oppenheimer, the Christopher Nolan film that has cleaned up at almost every awards ceremony since its release.
The summer of 2023 saw the film's release coincide with the release of Greta Gerwig phenomenon Barbie starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling . The pictures went head to head at the box office and enjoyed lucrative success.
As a result of the hysteria, Murphy became the first Irish-born actor to win Best Actor at the Oscar's , in what many thought would cement him as the main man of Hollywood. That was until Paul Mescal bagged a part in Gladiator II.
"When I watch anything, I tend to be clocking who’s interesting," filmmaker Ridley Scott told Vanity Fair. "It’s just in my DNA. And so, watching a TV show that’s not really my kind of TV show almost four years ago, I said, ‘Who’s this guy?' Mescal was a special find. He's absolutely perfect for the role."
The Co Kildare native plays Lucius, the son of Connie Nielsen's Lucilla in the blockbuster which will hit cinemas in less than six months - incredibly, the same time as Wicked featuring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo.
On Monday, Universal Pictures announced it is shifting Wicked's release date from November 27 to Friday, November 22 - the same day as Gladiator's highly-anticipated 2000 sequel .
Wicked and Gladiator II are now being tipped as 2024's answer to Barbenheimer - the name given to the cultural phenomenon surrounding the simultaneous release of Barbie and Oppenheimer .
It could also oust Murphy from his Hollywood throne, and make Mescal the City of Stars' hottest new exploit. Murphy, 47, previously told British GQ: " Paul Mescal is the real deal. He is like a true movie star.
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"They don’t come along that often but... luckily, they seem mostly to come from Ireland . It's a good time to be an Irish actor , it seems."
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