Paul Mescal at Dublin premiere

Irish stars and fans arrived for the premiere of Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II in Dublin’s Lighthouse Cinema on Thursday.

The film stars Kildare actor Paul Mescal, playing the character Lucius alongside co-star and two-time Oscar winner Denzel Washington.

Sir Ridley’s first film in 2000, which starred Russell Crowe as soldier-turned-gladiator Maximus, won five Oscars including best actor and best picture.

Gladiator II is set to be released in the UK and Ireland on 15 November.

Speaking to RTÉ, Mescal expressed his admiration for the fans, saying he was “always blown away by Irish fans who come and stand and wait to meet us.”

Mescal showed his delight to be back in his home country and said: “I’m fundamentally proud to be Irish, so to feel this when you come home is very difficult to put into words.”

Acknowledging the current crop of Irish stars, he said “whatever is in the water at the moment for Irish actors, it must be coming within these borders,” adding that he would love to work on a film with other talents from the island, including Cillian Murphy and Saoirse Ronan.

Mescal also praised the director: “The fact I’ve had the opportunity to work with Ridley Scott on one of his best films, is very difficult to put into words.”

Mescal’s co-stars Denzel Washington and Pedro Pascal were not in Dublin, but Olympic gold medallist swimmer Daniel Wiffen from Magheralin was on the red carpet.

The Olympian told RTÉ that when he won Gold in Paris, his celebration was inspired by Russell Crowe from the first film, which came out in 2000.

Wiffen made history in Paris in July when he became the first athlete from Northern Ireland to win an Olympic gold in 36 years.