- Irish actor Paul Mescal found himself in an awkward exchange this week, when he was asked about meeting King Charles
- The star was introduced to the head of the British royal family at the UK premiere of Gladiator II
- Fans took to social media to praise Mescal’s ‘hilarious’ response
He’s the star of Gladiator II.
And as Paul Mescal appears at various premieres around the globe for his new movie, the Irish actor has met some very interesting people.
At the UK premiere of the film, Mescal, 28, reunited with his All of Us Strangers co-star Andrew Scott – and also met none other than King Charles.
But while the other members of the cast – including Pedro Pascal and Denzel Washington – were thrilled with the introduction, Mescal wasn’t overly enamored to meet the head of the British royal family, thanks to the violent history between the UK and his home nation.
Fast forward to this week, and Mescal took to the red carpet of the US premiere of Gladiator II – where an interviewer had a very pointed question for him.
When “how wild” it was to meet Charles, Mescal had an excellent response.
“It’s defintiely not something that I thought was on the bingo card. I’m Irish, so it’s not on the list of priorities,” he answered.
Diplomatically, Mescal then added, “But it’s an amazing thing for Ridley [Scott, the director] because I know how important that is for him, so to see his film celebrated in that context was really special.”
‘He couldn’t care less!’
After the exchange hit social media, fans rushed to back Mescal up.
“Asking an Irishman what it was like to meet the King Of England during the premiere of a movie about people being enslaved and forced to fight for freedom. Irony,” noted one. Another added, “Oh he hates the monarchy and I’m here for it.”
Others questioned the reporter’s technique, and said, “It’s the fact that the interviewer keeps pushing the question lol like read the room.”
“Are your interviewers not aware of like… Irish history,” questioned another, while someone else said, “Legend. Asking an Irishman how they felt meeting the British royal family is brain dead awareness.”
“It’s the fact that Paul Mescal makes it clear that he does not care and it’s a subject that should not be pursued but the reporter follows it up with a, ‘What do you say to the King?’” another agreed.
Branding the question as “stupid” but the answer as “quite good”, others called Mescal “real” and “hilarious”.
“A respectful way of saying ‘I couldn’t care less’,” a final person said.
