Hollywood A-lister Paul Mescal’s starring role in Ridley Scott’s Gladiator contributed to his entertainment firm recording post tax profits in excess of €1m last year.
New accounts filed by the actor’s Castle Dawson Pictures Ltd show that the company’s post tax profits of €1.023m in the 11 months to the end of September last followed profits of €309,051 in the prior year – an increase of 231%.
The €1.02m post tax profit for last year translates to weekly profits of €21,326 for the 48 week period from the end of October 2023 to the end of September last.
The bumper year for the firm allowed the company to pay dividends of €333,333 to its sole owner, Paul Mescal.
No pay was made to directors last year after directors’ pay for 2023 totalled €641,185.
At the end of last September, the company was sitting on accumulated profits of €1.16m.
In the buoyant year for the firm, the company’s cash funds almost doubled from €646,596 to €1.24m.
Gladiator was released worldwide in November of last year and Mescal’s role as Lucius Verus helped Gladiator to a worldwide box-office of $462.2m.
When commenting on casting Mescal for the role of Lucius, Ridley Scott said: “He was a special find. He was absolutely perfect.”
In Ireland, Gladiator recorded the fifth highest box office of the year at €3.67m.
Mescal – who signed off on the accounts on June 30 – became a star on both sides of the Atlantic with his award-winning portrayal of Connell Waldron in the lockdown hit drama, Normal People in April and May of 2020.
Mescal has a 100% shareholding in the company and the accounts show that at the end of September last, its current assets – made up of cash and moneys owed by debtors – totalled €1.16m.
The lucrative year enjoyed by Mescal’s Castle Dawson culminated in his movie firm agreeing to provide him with a €1.05m loan facility in November of last year.
Documents show that Mescal signed off on the loan facility with his firm on November 18 – three days after the release of Gladiator II here on November 15.
Seeking to capitalise on his status, the former Kildare minor football captain incorporated Castle Dawson Pictures Ltd on November 23rd 2020.
The company due to its small size is not required to disclose the revenues it recorded during the year.
Mescal’s career has been on a skywards trajectory since his debut screen performance in Normal People.
He learnt his acting trade at Trinity College Dublin’s The Lir Academy and this year a record 600 people have applied this year for its 16 place acting programme that helped launch Mescal’s career.
Normal People reportedly gave BBC Three its best ever week on the iPlayer while it also set new viewing records on the RTE Player.
Such was the impact Mescal had on TV viewers that he made O’Neills shorts one of the most sought after fashion items at the time.
Reporting by Gordon Deegan
