Paul Mescal has made the surprising admission that he believes he will die young.
The 28-year-old heartthrob has had a meteoric rise to fame over the last four years and will shortly be seen as the leading man in Ridley Scott's much-anticipated Gladiator II.
In a candid interview with GQ Magazine, Mescal opened up on the recurring thought that he won't live into old age.
"I've always been convinced that I'm not going to live a long life," he said, continuing: "People have this response, but in my head it's never been drastic. It's just like a gut feeling. And maybe it's to do with the fact that I can't visualise myself as an 80-year-old man."
He added: "But 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.
"It's always in my head. I was like, 'going to have a family young. 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."
Gladiator II is due out on November 15, after which Mescal will be seen opposite Josh O'Connor in the gay romance The History of Sound.
Neil Wilkes
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