Paul Mescal has reportedly been told to ‘get less ripped’ as he gears up to take on the role of Sir Paul McCartney in the upcoming Beatles biopic.
It was announced this week that the 29-year-old actor will be starring in the Sam Mendes movie as one of The Fab Four, alongside Harris Dickinson as John Lennon, Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr and Joseph Quinn as George Harrison.
Each of the four movies will focus on one of the members of the band, with all films set to be released in April 2028.
However, according to The Sun, Paul has already been ordered to make some changes to his body so he looks more like the music legend.
An insider told the publication: ‘Obviously there weren’t really gyms around in the Sixties. The Beatles weren’t ᴅᴇᴀᴅ-lifting between gigs.
‘Macca was always pretty lean and flexible — he has always been really into yoga — but this is a very different aesthetic to that of a burly gladiator, and Paul has been keeping his body pretty ripped, even after filming stopped.’
Paul Mescal has reportedly been told to ‘get less ripped’ as he gears up to take on the role of Sir Paul McCartney in the upcoming Beatles biopic (pictured in Gladiator II)
It was announced this week that the 29-year-old actor will be starring in the Sam Mendes movie as one of The Fab Four (Paul McCartney pictured in 1964)
They added: ‘Sir Paul McCartney is also famously a vegetarian, whereas Paul mainly lives on a high protein steak, chicken and eggs diet.’
The source also confirmed that he will be able to smoke and drink as Paul famously enjoyed cannabis.
MailOnline have contacted a representative for Paul for comment.
It’s going to be another complete transformation for Paul, who back in November revealed he became so ripped he felt his body ‘could inflict real damage’ after his intense training sessions for Gladiator II.
The actor explained that after working out with a fitness coach, riding horses and learning to fight, he began to feel strong and powerful.
Paul, 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, played the son of Russell Crowe’s legendary Maximus.
It was announced this week that the 29-year-old actor will be starring in the Sam Mendes movie as one of The Fab Four, alongside Harris Dickinson as John Lennon, Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr and Joseph Quinn as George Harrison
The life of the iconic band (pictured in 1963) is set to be told in four biopics, which will all be released in April 2028, in what’s been dubbed ‘the first binge-able theatrical experience’
Paul has reportedly already been ordered to make some changes to his body so he looks more like the music legend
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Although the character is long-since ᴅᴇᴀᴅ 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 praised Paul’s performance.
Paul also admitted he was ‘very naive’ ahead of filming as he believed his ‘normal’ body would be OK.
Speaking to Variety in a conversation with Wicked star Ariana Grande, the Irish star also opened up about trying on his costume for the first time and said he ‘didn’t recognise his body’ following his transformation which made him ‘excited’.
Paul said: ‘I initially decided when I’d first been cast—which was very naive—I was like, ‘I’m just going to go for normal ‘Gladiator.’ The way my body is is the way my body is.’ And then I was like, ‘That’s not the film we’re making.’
‘So I went into the gym, but I hadn’t tried on the costumes yet, and when I put the costumes on, I was like, ‘This is miles away from anything I’ve ever done.’
‘I didn’t recognize the way my body was in the clothes that I was wearing, and that created a distance from who you feel like the world expects you to be as a performer. That got me excited. And then we had some dodgy wig fittings, and I’m not a fan of a wig.’
Paul, who rose to fame in the BBC drama Normal People, will play the iconic Paul McCartney (pictured right in 1964)
An insider told the publication: ‘Obviously there weren’t really gyms around in the Sixties. The Beatles weren’t ᴅᴇᴀᴅ-lifting between gigs’ (Paul pictured in Gladiator)
Amanda Holden also questioned Paul about his trainer’s extreme steps to prepare the actor for the role.
The Heart radio presenter asked: ‘Is it true when you started for this, your personal trainer literally circled you to see what he could do with you?’
To which Paul replied: ‘Oh, fully up in the H๏τel bedroom he was like ‘strip down to your boxers’ and I was like ‘okay.’ Circled around and then just did this like mind palace of what my body could potentially look like in x amount of months.’
Amanda then went on to ask what steps Paul took to get his body in shape for the film, querying whether he had to make ‘sacrifices’ he had to make when it came to his normal diet and drinking habits.
Paul shared: ‘The diet and the training were the main sacrifices because it just requires time and diligence but thankfully, I was able to obviously drink within reason and everything.’
Amanda then remarked: ‘Yes, because wine is good for you and the Romans invented it and drank it’, with Paul then quipping that drinking wine is simply ‘method’ acting.
