Paul Mescal reveals he has 'gut feeling' he will not live a long life

Ellen O'Donoghue

Paul Mescal has said he is “convinced" he will not live a long life in an interview with GQ Magazine.

The Gladiator II actor said in the recent interview that he has a “gut feeling” he will die young.

“I’ve always been convinced that I’m not going to live a long life. People have this response, but in my head, it’s never been drastic. It’s just like a gut feeling.”

The 28-year-old Kildare actor, who hit peak physical fitness for his lead role in Gladiator II, reasoned that “maybe it’s to do with the fact that I can’t visualise myself as an 80-year-old man.

“'I’m also afraid of death. So I think if death was to come for me at 55, I’d be equally afraid of it as I would be at 90. I don’t believe anybody who’s like, ‘I’m ready for it’. I’m like, ‘Bulls**t!’,” Mescal said.

“It’s always in my head. I was like, going to have a family young,” he said in the interview, “I’m going to not survive a long time. Hopefully, I’m wrong. I think I will be wrong. But that’s just the truth around my brain.”

Mescal, on a brighter note, also said that he “loved” the training for the forthcoming Gladiator II, despite how gruelling it was physically.

His schedule included lifting heavy objects, running and being told what and when to eat.