Paul Mescal is on the rise, and his star is only going to get brighter once he steps out of the colosseum in Gladiator II.
The Irish actor has become one of the biggest names in Hollywood in a relatively short period of time, and it all started in a humble place: the BBC. Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones found themselves becoming overnight sensations after the release of their romantic drama Normal People, which came out in April 2020 just when people were stuck at home looking for something to be transported by.
Normal People gave people exactly that, a heart-wrenching drama about the romance between Marianne (Jones) and Connell (Mescal) and the ways in which they fell into and out of each others live. It fit in exactly with what people needed at that time, and it was bolstered by sensational performances by its two leads who rightly became beloved worldwide as a result.
Mescal quickly earned a heartthrob status that has meant more and more people have become interested in him, and his Irish accent and penchant for short shorts has only increased this. For better or worse, his personal life has also become a subject of public intrigue, with rumours around him “running away” from dates taking a life of its own despite the actor saying they’re untrue.
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Speaking with GQ about keeping his personal life out of the spotlight, he said: “I’ve learned that there’s certain lines in the sand now for me that just are going to be impenetrable for the benefit of my own sanity, but also the benefit of my work.
“Because I think if you don’t have those boundaries up in terms of lines in the sand in regards to your private life, people know way too much about you and then they can’t invest in the imagined landscape of your character because they know what your favorite thing to eat for breakfast is.
“I mean, the speculation has been kind of mad for the last x amount of years. I’m 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.”
What is interesting is that Mescal has taken his newfound fame after Normal People and made some interesting choices, all of which have helped him continue to be seen as one to watch.
He delivered a deeply vulnerable performance as a single dad in Charlotte Wells’ Aftersun, a director he hopes to build a “De Niro–Scorsese relationship” with, which earned him his first Oscar nomination. He also moved viewers as a lonely gay man in All of Us Strangers opposite Andrew Scott, and put emphasis on indie films like Foe, Carmen, and God’s Creatures.
The actor’s big mainstream breakthrough is Gladiator II, Ridley Scott‘s follow-up to his 2000 masterpiece starring Russell Crowe. Mescal portrays Lucius, the son of Crowe’s Maximus and Lucilla (Connie Nielsen).
It doesn’t get bigger than Gladiator, really. The sequel has been in the works for some time, and a lot of buzz has been generated around it particularly for Mescal and his co-star Denzel Washington. The trailer looks even more epic than the 2000 movie, and it will certainly put Mescal in the spotlight in a bigger way than he has ever had before.
The actor is following up the movie juggernaut in a surprising way, with a leading role in Oscar-winning director Chloé Zhao’s next project Hamnet and a film adaptation of Steven Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along, which is being directed by Richard Linklater. Both are interesting choices, and show the actor’s desire to work with prolific directors rather than big-budget blockbusters.
What’s clear is Mescal is here to stay and the public are more than happy to see his star rise as high as it can go, not bad for someone whose first lead role was only four years ago.
Gladiator II premieres in cinemas on Friday, 15 November.
