Paul Mescal

Paul Mescal (born 2 February 1996) is an Irish actor. He is best known for his starring role in the miniseries Normal People (2020), which earned him international attention and a Primetime Emmy Award nomination.

Paul Mescal
Born (1996-02-02) 2 February 1996
Maynooth, County Kildare, Ireland
EducationThe Lir Academy
OccupationActor
Years active2017–present

Early life and education

Mescal was born and reared in Maynooth, County Kildare to parents Dearbhla, a Garda, and Paul, a schoolteacher who also acted semi-professionally.[1]

Mescal was an under-21 Gaelic footballer for Kildare and was a member of the Maynooth club.[2][3] Former Tipperary and Kildare Gaelic footballer Brian Lacey praised his skills as a defender.[4] His former county minor manager Brendan Hackett had Mescal down as a centre-back who would match Glenn Ryan, while Cian O'Neill described Mescal as "mature beyond his years for someone that young. Physically, he was very developed and very strong, he was strong in the tackle and a tight marker" and said Mescal reminded him of Paul Dempsey.[5] He gave up the sport after a jaw injury.[6]

Mescal graduated BA in Acting from The Lir Academy at Trinity College Dublin in 2017.[7][3]

Career

As he was graduating from The Lir, Mescal was offered roles in two high-profile theatre productions: Angela's Ashes and The Great Gatsby. Due to scheduling, he took on The Great Gatsby, starring as the lead at the Gate Theatre. He also played the Prince in a contemporary retelling of Hans Christian Andersen's The Red Shoes at the Gate that year.[8]

In 2018, Mescal landed the role of Lieutenant Langon in The Plough and the Stars at the Lyric Theatre and Gaiety Theatre in London,[9] and played Bryan in the world premiere of Louise O'Neill's Asking for It.[10] He then acted in A Midsummer Night's Dream and A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man with the Rough Magic Theatre company for the 2018 Dublin Theatre Festival and Kilkenny Arts Festival.[11] Mescal also appeared in the Irish television advert for Denny sausages that year.[12]

In May 2019, it was announced that Mescal would star in the main role as Connell alongside Daisy Edgar-Jones in Hulu and BBC Three series Normal People, an adaptation of the novel by Sally Rooney.[13] The role earned him a nomination for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie.[14]

On 30 July 2020, Mescal performed spoken word and sang with Dermot Kennedy at the London Natural History Museum.[15] He also starred in the Channel 5 miniseries The Deceived,[16] and appeared in a music video for The Rolling Stones' song "Scarlet" that year.[17] Mescal is set to play Danny in comedy series Digz.[18]

Filmography

Film and television
Year Title Role Notes
2017 Happyish Short film directed by Juanita Wilson
2019 Bump Matt
2020 Normal People Connell Waldron Main role
2020 The Deceived Sean McKeogh Main role
2020 Drifting Cian Short film directed by Robert Higgins and Patrick McGivney

Music videos
Song Year Artist
"Scarlet" 2020 The Rolling Stones

Stage
Year Title Role Notes
2013 Miss Saigon Chris Theatre Royal, Waterford
2014 The Phantom of The Opera The Phantom Theatre Royal, Waterford
2017 The Great Gatsby Jay Gatsby Gate Theatre, Dublin
2017–2018 The Red Shoes Prince Gate Theatre, Dublin
2018 The Plough and the Stars Lieutenant Langon Lyric Theatre, London; Gaiety Theatre, Dublin
2018 Asking for It Bryan Abbey Theatre, Dublin
2018 A Midsummer Night's Dream Demetrius Kilkenny Castle, Kilkenny Arts Festival
2018 A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man Stephen Dedalus Pavilion Theatre, Dún Laoghaire; Dublin Theatre Festival
2020 The Lieutenant of Inishmore Mad Padraic Gaiety Theatre, Dublin

Awards and nominations
Year Award Category Nominee/work Result Ref.
2020
 TV Choice Award Best Actor Normal People Pending [19]
Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie Pending [14]

References
  1. Armstrong, Maggie (11 January 2020). "Readers' expectations are the 'biggest source of anxiety' - Paul Mescal on tackling role of Connell in Normal People". Independent.ie. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
  2. Ward, Patrick (16 December 2017). "From Kildare football star to Irish theatre star - Mescal revelling on a new stage". Kildare Now. Retrieved 3 November 2019.
  3. Regan, Jarlath (25 April 2020). "Paul Mescal". An Irishman Abroad (Podcast) (352 ed.). SoundCloud. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  4. Lawlor, Damian (28 July 2017). "Lacey backs Kildare to prosper without one that got away". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 3 November 2019.
  5. Keane, Paul (14 May 2020). "Former Kildare boss Cian O'Neill got a glimpse of Paul Mescal's acting talent". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
  6. Fitch Little, Harriet (16 March 2020). "Meet the Charismatic Stars of the Highly-Anticipated Normal People Adaptation". Vogue. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
  7. "Acting Profiles / Alumni 2017: Paul Mescal". The Lir Academy. Retrieved 3 November 2019.
  8. Sweeney, Tanya (15 December 2017). "'It was tough... but I've stepped into a time in Irish theatre that's really alive'". The Irish Times. Retrieved 3 November 2019.
  9. Tom Moran (4 March 2018). "Paul Mescal Plays Personality Bingo". Headstuff (Podcast). Retrieved 3 November 2019.
  10. "Casting Announced For The World Premiere of ASKING FOR IT By Louise O'Neill". Broadway World. 9 March 2018. Retrieved 3 November 2019.
  11. Crawley, Peter (4 August 2019). "It's a kind of magic: electric midsummer night's dreams in Kilkenny Castle". The Irish Times. Retrieved 3 November 2019.
  12. Baxter-Wright, Dusty (11 May 2020). "Normal People's Connell was once in a sausage advert". Cosmopolitan. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  13. McDermott, Kerry (31 October 2019). "A First Look At Daisy Edgar Jones And Paul Mescal In The TV Adaptation Of Normal People". Vogue. Retrieved 3 November 2019.
  14. "Emmy Awards: Nominations List". The Hollywood Reporter. 28 July 2020. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  15. O'Connor, Rachael (31 July 2020). "Dermot Kennedy and Normal People's Paul Mescal perform stunning duet in Natural History Museum". The Irish Post. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  16. Carr, Flora (4 August 2020). "The Deceived's creators: 'There was a buzz about Paul Mescal – but no one predicted this'". Radio Times. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  17. Greene, Andy (6 August 2020). "Watch the New Rolling Stones Video 'Scarlet,' Starring Paul Mescal". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
  18. Marine, Brooke (30 May 2019). "Sally Rooney's Normal People Is Hulu's Next Trendy Literary Adaptation". W Magazine. Retrieved 3 November 2019.
  19. Carr, Flora (7 July 2020). "TV Choice Awards nominations revealed – Normal People leads the pack". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 14 July 2020. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
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