“Gladiator II” star Paul Mescal made his internet hosting debut tonight throughout the fiftieth season of “Saturday Night Live” and riffed on the whole lot from his lack of comedic performances to his Irish roots.
Clad in all black and sporting a mustache, Mescal took to the stage at Studio 8H, saying, “I’m Paul Mescal and it’s nice to be right here. I’ve at all times beloved SNL. This place has such historical past.”
Mescal, who’s from Maynooth, Ireland, continued, “Growing up again residence I by no means anticipated to be right here. I’m additionally excited to be right here as a result of I’m not likely identified for comedy, which is humorous to me as a result of I believe I’ve given a variety of actually humorous performances.”
The actor, who’s identified for his dramatic roles like within the Hulu miniseries “Normal People,” added, “I believe we’ve some highlights right here.” Clips from Mescal’s work in “Normal People” and different dramatic movie performances performed within the studio to a lot laughter.
With a smile, he stated, “I believe it’s humorous, no? I believe it’s clear, I’m not afraid to do emotional scenes, or nude scenes, or nude emotional scenes. But just lately, I did pivot to one thing new in ‘Gladiator II.’ It’s a giant action-packed blockbuster. Here’s a glance,” stated Mescal with a smile, as a clip of him crying within the bathe performed.
“It’s protected to say there’s not a variety of comedy on the resume,” he stated with a smile.
“Anyway, I do take nice pleasure in being Irish,” stated Mescal. “The Irish folks have been by loads. Centuries of British occupation, the good famine, mass immigration, that U2 album that routinely bought downloaded on folks’s telephones.”
Then the actor took time to handle some “ugly stereotypes” concerning the Irish. “There’s a nasty rumor that Irish folks have intercourse with our cousins. That’s offensive and it’s ridiculous. We have intercourse with our second cousins,” he stated, barely suppressing amusing.
“People additionally assume we hate British folks. That’s not true,” stated Mescal, “we simply don’t think about them folks.” When requested if Notre Dame’s Fighting Irish mascot is offensive, Mescal stated, “Not in any respect. We do the identical factor with the Americans; in truth, my highschool’s mascot was the Fighting Fat Asses.”
The actor additionally dispelled the notion that Irish folks put on kilts. “No, that’s the Scottish. Traditionally, the Irish put on quick shorts,” he stated, as an image of Mescal in tiny shorts popped on display screen. “Did somebody say quick shorts?” requested Marcello Hernandez, who appeared onstage sporting tiny shorts.
“You know what they are saying, Paul, the shorter the shorts the taller you look,” stated Hernandez.
“I don’t assume it’s working, bud,” stated Mescal with amusing.
Mescal acknowledged one Irish stereotype that, for him, rings true tonight. “People typically discuss concerning the luck of the Irish. I do really feel very, very fortunate to be right here. I’m in New York City. I’m internet hosting SNL and this feels completely insane to me,” concluded Mescal with a smile.
In his first skit, Mescal appeared in a musical model of “Gladiator II,” which imagined the epic with an additional 50 minutes of music added and Mescal singing about being a misunderstood killing machine.
Watch the spoof model of the “Gladiator II” trailer beneath:
Grammy-nominated Shaboozey is the episode’s musical visitor.
Watch the monologue beneath:
