Paul Mescal's Take On Changing His Body For "Gladiator II" Is Honestly Refreshing

Paul Mescal broke down how he got in shape for his starring role in Gladiator II.

In a new interview with the BBC, Paul was asked how long he spent in the gym every day to prepare for the sequel. He replied, "45 minutes."

"This is the thing, I don't generally believe when actors say they're in the gym for three hours and eating 9,000 calories," he continued.

Paul, who also played Gaelic football and rugby, added, "I was lucky that I had a background in sport before we started this. My body — it wasn't, like, going into totally new territory. I'm not saying that 45 minutes was easy, I was just lucky that's genetically or something is what was required."

The video quickly went viral, with comments following suit:

As his trainer, Tim Blakeley, told GQ, "The brief was [for Mescal] to put on size and get stronger. He didn’t want to go down the Marvel route of looking cartoony — we were thinking back-row rugby player type; strong, fit, fast, and agile like a decathlete." He said that the actor had 12 weeks before shooting and continued to occasionally smoke and drink throughout.

Honestly, I'd infinitely much rather this than people starving and/or dehydrating themselves for movies? Or using something that rhymes with schmeroids? Bring back the vaguely attainable (genetics-depending) buff bod!