As Gladiator II roars into the arena, its Oscar-winning director and star talk about horse-riding, Blade Runner, vodka, Scorsese, Elon Musk, vulnerability, AI … and Russell Crowe

Paul Mescal was four when Gladiator was released in 2000. This week he stars in Ridley Scott’s £250m sequel, as the son of Russell Crowe’s hero, Maximus.

We asked the actor to interview the director who has given him his biggest break – and he did. Despite four pages of suggested questions, Mescal rigorously stuck to his own script.