An Enormous Reason For Paul Mescal’s Meteoric Hollywood Success is 1 Thing That Surpasses Even His Acting Talent

Irish actor Paul Mescal is gearing up for the release of his hotly awaited Ridley Scott-directed Gladiator II, in which he plays Lucius Verus. Mescal rose to fame when he appeared as Connell Waldron in Normal People opposite Daisy Edgar-Jones. His leading role as a father in 2022’s Aftersun earned him a nomination for an Academy Award.

The actor will soon start filming for Chloé Zhao’s adaptation of the best-selling 2020 novel Hamnet, in which he’ll be playing the role of William Shakespeare. Paul Mescal, in a very short period of time, has managed to establish himself as one of the finest actors of the generation, with critics stating that he’s very natural. In a recent interview, the actor reveals how he has made his way into Hollywood.

Paul Mescal’s parents supported his decision to pursue acting instead of law

In a recent interview with GQ, Irish actor Paul Mescal he opened up about his upbringing. A police officer mom and teacher dad raised him, and where Mescal initially thought he’d pursue law, he changed his mind and decided to pursue acting at Trinity College’s Lir Academy. Upon asking about the reaction of his parents to his career switch, he said,

They totally pivoted and supported that choice. And I am so lucky to come from Ireland. How do you start your career, let’s say $200,000 in debt, and expect to have any kind of artistic integrity with the choice that you make? What if somebody turns around and goes, ‘You can do this terribly written piece of work, but it’s going to pay off your college debt.’

Mescal mentioned that the cost of classical training in Ireland college is just $10,000, which is much less than when compared to the United States. The actor was able to follow his dream and theater work in Dublin, which eventually led to Normal People. The actor goes on to mention he has always set out to do movies like Aftersun, which made him cry.

Paul Mescal also went back to play Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire. His father was also a stage actor in Ireland who returned to the stage this summer. Mescal mentioned that he didn’t grow up talking about plays with his father, but once he had an interest in it, his father knew what it meant to him.

Paul Mescal mentions he’s not comfortable inviting the public to access his personal life

During the interview with GQ, the actor went on to share that with time he has realized that he has to set up boundaries for his sanity. He added that if, as an actor, he does not set boundaries regarding his personal life, people will know way too much about him, and then they can no longer invest in the character he plays on-screen. He added

I am not comfortable inviting any access into that part of my life. How I am in my private life is so precious to me because I get very little of it, and it might be public interest, but it’s not public-obligated information.

The Irish actor mentioned that the rumor about him and his one-night stands was funny. The video on TikTok mentioned that he takes his one-night stands for walks in the park the next day, points out a bird or a tree, and then runs in another direction.

Paul Mescal noted that while he and his siblings found the videos very funny, his mom seemed disappointed. He assured her that it was not true, but he added that, as a mother, her impulse was to say that he wouldn’t do that.

Later in the conversation, the actor added that Gladiator II is by far the biggest thing he’s done in terms of public-facing responsibility. He noted that he now knows what he wants to be as an actor. Paul Mescal wishes to have an actor/director relationship like Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese with Aftersun director Charlotte Wells.

Gladiator II is scheduled for release on November 22, 2024.