Local Actor Snags Huge Movie Role – The Wrexham Academy of Screen Acting’s Dean Fagan recently landed a plum role in the Gladiator II movie starring Paul Mescal!
Audition Tape
The opportunity came about in November 2023 when he received a phone call from his agent telling him the casting directors of Gladiator II were on the lookout for actors to play some of the main character’s fellow combatants. He had to film his audition tape on a Monday, then received a recall that took place in London on Wednesday and found out the following day he’d landed the role.
By Sunday, he was flying out to the beautiful island of Malta, where he filmed his scenes! Dean (third right above) plays Dorso, a slave-turned-gladiator who rallies around the lead actor, Lucius, played by Oscar nominee Mescal.
Dean says, “The set was phenomenal – they built the Colosseum for real, along with the Roman promenade and council buildings. Walking into the Colosseum was like stepping back in time.”

Hallowed Ground
“It’s hallowed ground because it’s where they filmed the first one. Working with all those guys, and, of course, Ridley Scott and Denzel Washington, was a dream come true.” Dean added, “It was incredible to watch everything we worked on come together. Seeing myself on an IMAX screen is a moment I’ll never forget. The scale, the performances, everyone worked so hard to make it a worthy successor to the original.”
Dean Fagan
Treasure of Albion
Fagan began his career in the 2006 British adventure film Treasure of Albion. In 2010, he portrayed Mikey Craig in the biographical drama television film Worried About the Boy, directed by Julian Jarrold and written by Tony Basgallop, which chronicles the life of English singer Boy George.
In 2014, Fagan joined the cast of Coronation Street as Luke Britton. Describing his character, Fagan said Luke “is an ambitious cheeky chappy who’s a dreamer as well. He dreams about his future aspirations, and he dreams about women too! He tries his best to attain his goals and improve himself, but whether he keeps his focus is another matter because he’s easily distracted! He’s a nice guy, but he has a past.”

A Pivotal Part
Fagan left the show in 2018, with Luke’s final scenes airing on 5th January. Reflecting on his departure, Fagan noted that his character was “going to be a pivotal part of the start of the character Pat Phelan’s demise, the start of the unravelling, that someone else has found out the truth and he has now killed again which is a desperate act and one that is going to eventually start more questions being asked.”
In 2021, Fagan starred as Stevie in the BBC One three-part drama Time, which provided a raw and emotional look at life in a British prison.
By January 2022, Fagan appeared in the second series of the RTÉ One thriller drama Smother in January 2022. He played Finn, the estranged son of Denis Ahern.
Devla Kirwan
Discussing his role in the series, Fagan described it as a new challenge, especially working alongside Dervla Kirwan. Reflecting on his experiences on set, he compared it to his time on Coronation Street: “Coronation Street had been going by the time I got in there, so I would argue that it’s more nerve-wracking coming into something like that.

In Coronation Street, everybody is set in their place and the characters are so well-known. In Smother, it’s like a relay race, I suppose. I had to come in, help keep the pace going and slot in nicely, but everybody was fantastic. They were welcoming and understanding and hopefully that energy comes across.”
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