Mumbai, Nov 15 (IANS): Irish actor Paul Mescal, who plays Lucius in “Gladiator 2”, has addressed comparisons to Russell Crowe, who famously portrayed Maximus in the original 2000 epic.

When asked how he feels about being compared to Crowe, Mescal graciously called it “a compliment” but emphasized the distinct differences between their characters.

In an interview with IANS, Paul shared, “It’s a compliment but also, I think it’s like, I think when people encounter the film they will obviously see the similarities but I think I have said this time and again, the characters to me are very different fundamentally; they have a very different relationship to what Rome is and yeah but ultimately not for me to kind of decide that’s something for audience to discuss on.”

Further, talking about Indian cinema, the actor expressed, “I think obviously you have got the incredible industry of Bollywood. And, it was the same year I was up for Oscars, so I think the thing that is important more broadly is global cinema, like the fact that regardless of where you are in the world, it’s the central part to a lot of people’s lives and also it’s great to see films not just from US, UK, Italy, and France, breaking into kind of onto a world platform, like more culture we get to experience, the more I think we are educated as people.”

In the film, Paul Mescal takes on the role of Lucius, the son of Lucilla and Maximus. The actioner also stars Danish actress Connie Nielsen, Pedro Pascal, and Denzel Washington. This thrilling action drama set in ancient Rome follows the story of Lucius, the grandson of Emperor Marcus Aurelius and the son of the legendary Maximus.

“Gladiator 2”, the much-anticipated sequel to Ridley Scott’s Oscar-winning epic, hit theatres on November 22.