If there’s one thing we didn’t expect to come out of Gladiator II, it’s an homage to one of The X Factor’s most enduring memes.
All we can say is: thank you Paul Mescal.
Paul is on the promo trail for the long-awaited Gladiator sequel right now, which means he’s currently spending a lot of time in stuffy hotel rooms being asked the same four or five questions on a loop by journalists from around the world at press junkets.
Fortunately, it looks like the Oscar nominee is keeping himself entertained.
In a TikTok posted by production company Paramount Pictures, the Irish actor can be seen kicking off an interview with a re-enactment of former X Factor judge Cheryl Tweedy’s infamous “whenever you’re ready” moment with Treyc Cohen from back in 2010.
And he even roped American co-star Fred Hechinger into the fun as well.
Take a look for yourself below:
“Fucking brilliant,” Paul declared at the end of the video. “Made my day!”
For those with shorter memories than us, the clip references an exchange Cheryl had with X Factor hopeful Treyc Cohen in which they found themselves repeating whether or not they were “ready” in a seemingly-endless back-and-forth.
It did raise a few laughs at the time, but this was exacerbated even further when comedian Harry Hill parodied the moment on his show TV Burp:
And as the clip of Paul began doing the rounds, fans were absolutely loving the reference:
Gladiator II is in cinemas now, with Paul and Fred appearing in the film alongside the likes of Joseph Quinn, Pedro Pascal and Denzel Washington.
Connie Nielsen and Derek Jacobi are also among the few actors who reprise their roles from the original film, with the sequel being set 15 years later.