Paul Mescal (; born 2 February 1996) is an Irish actor. Born in
Maynooth
Maynooth (; ga, Maigh Nuad) is a university town in north County Kildare, Ireland. It is home to Maynooth University (part of the National University of Ireland and also known as the National University of Ireland, Maynooth) and St Patrick's ...
, he studied acting at
The Lir Academy
The Lir National Academy of Dramatic Art is an Irish drama school that offers conservatory training for theatre, film and television from industry professionals. The Lir Academy is located in Dublin, Ireland, and is a part of Trinity College Dubl ...
and subsequently performed in plays in Dublin theatres. Mescal rose to fame with his role in the miniseries ''
Normal People
''Normal People'' is a 2018 novel by the Irish author Sally Rooney. ''Normal People'' is Rooney's second novel, published after '' Conversations with Friends'' (2017). It was first published by Faber & Faber on 30 August 2018. The book became a ...
'' (2020), earning a
BAFTA TV Award
The BAFTA TV Awards, or British Academy Television Awards are presented in an annual award show hosted by the BAFTA. They have been awarded annually since 1955.
Background
The first-ever Awards, given in 1955, consisted of six categories. Until ...
as well as a nomination for a
Primetime Emmy Award
The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...
.
Mescal made his film debut with a supporting role in the psychological drama ''
The Lost Daughter
''The Lost Daughter'' is a 2021 psychological drama film adapted for the screen and directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal (in her feature directorial debut) based on the 2006 novel of the same name by Elena Ferrante. The film stars Olivia Colman, Dakot ...
'' (2021), and received praise for starring in the 2022 drama films ''
God's Creatures'' and ''
Aftersun''. His performance as a troubled father in the lattermost earned him nominations for an
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
and
BAFTA Film Award
The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTA Film Awards is an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The cere ...
. Since 2022, he has performed as
Stanley Kowalski
Stanley Kowalski is a fictional character in Tennessee Williams' play ''A Streetcar Named Desire''.
In the play
Stanley lives in the working-class Faubourg Marigny neighborhood of New Orleans with his wife, Stella ( DuBois), and is employed ...
in a revival of the play ''
A Streetcar Named Desire
''A Streetcar Named Desire'' is a play written by Tennessee Williams and first performed on Broadway on December 3, 1947. The play dramatizes the experiences of Blanche DuBois, a former Southern belle who, after encountering a series of pers ...
''.
Early life and education
Mescal was born on 2 February 1996 in
Maynooth
Maynooth (; ga, Maigh Nuad) is a university town in north County Kildare, Ireland. It is home to Maynooth University (part of the National University of Ireland and also known as the National University of Ireland, Maynooth) and St Patrick's ...
,
County Kildare
County Kildare ( ga, Contae Chill Dara) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county, ...
to Dearbhla, a
Garda officer, and Paul, a schoolteacher who acted semi-professionally as well. The eldest of three children, he has a brother and a sister.
He attended
Maynooth Post Primary School
Maynooth Post Primary School is a coeducational multidenominational secondary school in Maynooth, County Kildare, Ireland.
Academic
Maynooth PPS offers Junior Certificate, Transition Year, Leaving Certificate Applied and Leaving Certificate ...
.
He was a minor and under-21
Gaelic football
Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...
player for
Kildare
Kildare () is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. , its population was 8,634 making it the 7th largest town in County Kildare. The town lies on the R445, some west of Dublin – near enough for it to have become, despite being a regional ce ...
and a member of the
Maynooth GAA
Maynooth GAA (Irish: Cumann Lúthchleas Gael Máigh Núad) is a Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) club in Maynooth, County Kildare, Ireland. It caters for the sporting and social needs of residential areas adjacent to its location for all ages ...
club.
Gaelic footballer
Brian Lacey praised Mescal's skills as a defender, while physical trainer
Cian O'Neill
Dr Cian O'Neill is an Irish former Gaelic footballer who has since been a Gaelic games coach (physical trainer), selector and manager with various county teams. He has been attached to the Galway county football team, under Pádraic Joyce, since ...
described him as "mature beyond his years ... very developed and very strong". He gave up the sport after a jaw injury.
Mescal performed on stage for the first time at age 16, portraying the titular
Phantom
Phantom may refer to:
* Spirit (animating force), the vital principle or animating force within all living things
** Ghost, the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that can appear to the living
Aircraft
* Boeing Phantom Ray, a stealthy un ...
in the musical ''
The Phantom of the Opera
''The Phantom of the Opera'' (french: Le Fantôme de l'Opéra) is a novel by French author Gaston Leroux. It was first published as a serial in from 23 September 1909 to 8 January 1910, and was released in volume form in late March 1910 by Pierr ...
'',
after which he auditioned and gained admission to
The Lir Academy
The Lir National Academy of Dramatic Art is an Irish drama school that offers conservatory training for theatre, film and television from industry professionals. The Lir Academy is located in Dublin, Ireland, and is a part of Trinity College Dubl ...
at
Trinity College Dublin
, name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin
, motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin)
, motto_lang = la
, motto_English = It will last i ...
.
Mescal graduated with a
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
in Acting in 2017. He secured agents for his acting career prior to his graduation.
Career
Theatre and television roles (2017–2020)
Upon obtaining his Bachelor of Arts degree, Mescal was offered roles in two theatre productions, ''
Angela's Ashes
''Angela's Ashes: A Memoir'' is a 1996 memoir by the Irish-American author Frank McCourt, with various anecdotes and stories of his childhood. The book details his very early childhood in Brooklyn, New York, US but focuses primarily on his life ...
'' and ''
The Great Gatsby
''The Great Gatsby'' is a 1925 novel by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. Set in the Jazz Age on Long Island, near New York City, the novel depicts First-person narrative, first-person narrator Nick Carraway's interactions with mysterious mil ...
''; he took on the latter and starred as the titular
Jay Gatsby
Jay Gatsby (originally named James Gatz) is the titular fictional character of F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 novel ''The Great Gatsby''. The character is an enigmatic ''nouveau riche'' millionaire who lives in a luxurious mansion on Long Island whe ...
at the
Gate Theatre
The Gate Theatre is a theatre on Cavendish Row in Dublin, Ireland. It was founded in 1928.
History Beginnings
The Gate Theatre was founded in 1928 by Hilton Edwards and Micheál MacLiammóir with Daisy Bannard Cogley and Gearóid Ó Lochlai ...
in Dublin.
He also portrayed the Prince in a contemporary retelling of
Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales.
Andersen's fairy tales, consisti ...
's ''
The Red Shoes'' at the same theatre that year.
Mescal appeared in the world premiere of the 2018 play ''
Asking for It'' by
Louise O'Neill
Louise O'Neill is an Irish author who writes primarily for young adults. She was born in 1985 and grew up in Clonakilty, in West Cork, Ireland.
Career
O'Neill moved to New York City in 2010. Upon returning to Ireland in 2011, O'Neill began her ...
at the
Abbey Theatre
The Abbey Theatre ( ga, Amharclann na Mainistreach), also known as the National Theatre of Ireland ( ga, Amharclann Náisiúnta na hÉireann), in Dublin, Ireland, is one of the country's leading cultural institutions. First opening to the p ...
in Dublin; Steve Cummins of ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' commended his distinctive performance.
That same year, Mescal made his London stage debut in ''
The Plough and the Stars
''The Plough and the Stars'' is a four-act play by the Irish writer Seán O'Casey that was first performed on 8 February 1926 at the Abbey Theatre. It is set in Dublin and addresses the 1916 Easter Rising. The play's title references the Sta ...
'' at the
Lyric Hammersmith
The Lyric Theatre, also known as the Lyric Hammersmith, is a theatre on Lyric Square, off King Street, Hammersmith, London. and starred in the Rough Magic Theatre Company's productions of ''
A Midsummer Night's Dream
''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict amon ...
'' for the
Kilkenny Arts Festival
The Kilkenny Arts Festival, formally known as Kilkenny Arts Week, was founded in Kilkenny, Ireland, in 1974. It covers a number of art forms, including classical music and performance. Playwright and poet Seamus Heaney gave a reading of some o ...
and ''
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
''A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man'' is the first novel of Irish writer James Joyce. A ''Künstlerroman'' written in a modernist style, it traces the religious and intellectual awakening of young Stephen Dedalus, Joyce's fictional alter ...
'' for the
Dublin Theatre Festival
The Dublin Theatre Festival is Europe's oldest specialised theatre festival. It was founded by theatre impresario Brendan Smith in 1957 and has, with the exception of two years, produced a season of international and Irish theatre each autumn. ...
.
In 2020, he performed in the play ''
The Lieutenant of Inishmore
''The Lieutenant of Inishmore'' is a black comedy by Martin McDonagh, in which the 'mad' leader of an Irish National Liberation Army splinter group discovers that his cat has been killed. It has been produced twice in the West End and on Bro ...
'' at Dublin's
Gaiety Theatre.
Mescal starred in his first television role in the drama miniseries ''
Normal People
''Normal People'' is a 2018 novel by the Irish author Sally Rooney. ''Normal People'' is Rooney's second novel, published after '' Conversations with Friends'' (2017). It was first published by Faber & Faber on 30 August 2018. The book became a ...
'', an adaptation of the 2018
novel of the same name by
Sally Rooney
Sally Rooney (born 20 February 1991) is an Irish author and screenwriter. She has published three novels: ''Conversations with Friends'' (2017), '' Normal People'' (2018), and ''Beautiful World, Where Are You'' (2021). ''Normal People'' was adap ...
. It premiered in the UK on
BBC Three
BBC Three is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes targeting 16 to 34-year-olds, covering all genres including animation, comedy, curre ...
and in the US on
Hulu
Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television serie ...
in 2020.
He played student Connell Waldron; he viewed the role as different from himself in the way Waldron's traits include hesitance and emotional unavailability.
Like the actor did in real life, the character plays Gaelic football and attends Trinity College. The role propelled Mescal to fame.
He earned acclaim as well as the
BAFTA TV Award for Best Actor for his performance.
In their respective reviews for ''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' and ''
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...
'',
Caroline Framke called Mescal's navigation through the character's emotional collapse "breathtaking", while Willa Paskin noted his concurrent embodiment of "intelligence, insecurity and quiet confidence". He also received nominations for the
and the
.
Mescal starred in ''Drifting'', a short film, which was screened at the 2020
Galway Film Fleadh
The Galway Film Fleadh (; Irish for "festival") is an international film festival founded in 1989 as part of the Galway Arts Festival. Describing itself as Ireland’s leading film festival, the event is held every July in Galway city in Irela ...
.
He played a firefighter in the
Channel 5 miniseries ''The Deceived'' and appeared in the music video for the song "
Scarlet" by
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...
in August.
Reviewing ''The Deceived'', ''
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' critic Ed Power highlighted Mescal's effortless "sleepy-eyed charm" and "flawless"
Donegal accent.
Film career (2021–present)
![Paul mescal 2022 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4a/Paul_mescal_2022_1.jpg)
Mescal made his feature film debut with a supporting role in ''
The Lost Daughter
''The Lost Daughter'' is a 2021 psychological drama film adapted for the screen and directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal (in her feature directorial debut) based on the 2006 novel of the same name by Elena Ferrante. The film stars Olivia Colman, Dakot ...
'', directed by
Maggie Gyllenhaal
Margalit Ruth "Maggie" Gyllenhaal (; born November 16, 1977) is an American actress and filmmaker. Part of the Gyllenhaal family, she is the daughter of filmmakers Stephen Gyllenhaal and Naomi Foner Gyllenhaal, Naomi Achs, and the older sister o ...
in her directorial debut.
Released in 2021, the psychological drama garnered favourable reviews. The following year, Mescal starred as a troubled young father in the drama ''
Aftersun'' and a man accused of sexual assault in the psychological drama ''
God's Creatures'', both of which premiered at the
2022 Cannes Film Festival. The two films received positive reviews, with Mescal's performances gaining praise.
IndieWire
IndieWire (sometimes stylized as indieWIRE or Indiewire) is a film industry and review website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "to include all aspects of Hollyw ...
critic Kate Erbland found Mescal's work in ''God's Creatures'' "powerful" and "quietly chilling". Reviewing ''Aftersun'', ''
The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally.
It was fo ...
''s Tim Robey described Mescal's portrayal of "intimations of pain" as "sublimely underplayed". He received nominations for the
Academy Award for Best Actor
The Academy Award for Best Actor is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role in a film released that year. The ...
and the
BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
Best Actor in a Leading Role is a British Academy Film Award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding leading performance in a film.
Superlatives
Note: ...
for the latter.
Also in 2022, Mescal starred in ''
Carmen
''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the Carmen (novella), novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first perfo ...
'', a contemporary film adaptation of the
opera of the same name.
David Ehrlich opined that Mescal's performance "affirms his gravitas, his poise, and his willingness to fall into darkness backwards". He began playing
Stanley Kowalski
Stanley Kowalski is a fictional character in Tennessee Williams' play ''A Streetcar Named Desire''.
In the play
Stanley lives in the working-class Faubourg Marigny neighborhood of New Orleans with his wife, Stella ( DuBois), and is employed ...
in a revival of the play ''
A Streetcar Named Desire
''A Streetcar Named Desire'' is a play written by Tennessee Williams and first performed on Broadway on December 3, 1947. The play dramatizes the experiences of Blanche DuBois, a former Southern belle who, after encountering a series of pers ...
'' by
Tennessee Williams
Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the thre ...
at the
Almeida Theatre
The Almeida Theatre, opened in 1980, is a 325-seat producing house with an international reputation, which takes its name from the street on which it is located, off Upper Street, in the London Borough of Islington. The theatre produces a diver ...
in December 2022.
Reviewing the production for ''The Times'', Dominic Maxwell found Mescal "tremendous" and opined that he "makes the latent violence of Stanley Kowalski into something easy, tangible, vibrant yet unactorly." The production is scheduled to transfer to the
West End in March 2023.
Mescal will next star in ''
Foe'', an adaptation of the
novel of the same name by
Iain Reid
Iain Reid (born 1981) is a Canadian writer. Winner of the RBC Taylor Emerging Writer Award in 2015, Reid is the author of '' I'm Thinking of Ending Things'' (2016) and '' Foe'' (2018).
Writing career
Reid established his writing career by publi ...
, and in ''
Strangers'', an adaptation of
Taichi Yamada
is a Japanese screenwriter and novelist. His real name is .
Career
Born in Asakusa, Tokyo, Yamada attended Waseda University before entering the Shōchiku film studios, where he trained as an assistant director under Keisuke Kinoshita. He left t ...
's
novel of the same name.
He replaced
Blake Jenner
Blake Alexander Jenner (born August 27, 1992) is an American actor. Jenner won the second season of Oxygen's ''The Glee Project'' and, as a result, portrayed Ryder Lynn on the Fox musical comedy-drama series '' Glee''. He has since had starrin ...
in the role of a composer in
Richard Linklater
Richard Stuart Linklater (; born July 30, 1960) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is known for films that revolve mainly around suburban culture and the effects of the passage of time. His films include the comedies '' ...
's ''
Merrily We Roll Along'', a film adaptation of the
1981 musical of the same name, which is set be filmed over 20 years.
Personal life
Mescal moved from Ireland to London in 2020. He stated in December 2022 that he had bought a property in Ireland, with the intention of spending time there when he is not working. Mescal is open about seeing a therapist, which he says is "to keep sane".
Mescal plays the piano,
and has performed covers of songs with his sister, Nell. In July 2020, the actor performed spoken word and sang with Irish singer
Dermot Kennedy
Dermot Joseph Kennedy (born 13 December 1991) is an Irish singer-songwriter. He is best known for his 2019 single " Outnumbered", his 2020 single "Giants" and his feature on the 2020 Meduza single "Paradise". He is signed to Interscope Records i ...
at the
London Natural History Museum. He participated in a virtual stage reading of the play ''
This Is Our Youth
''This Is Our Youth'' is a play by American dramatist and screenwriter Kenneth Lonergan. It premiered Off-Broadway in 1996 and since been produced all over the world, including the West End, Broadway Sydney and Toronto.
Plot
The play takes pla ...
'' by
Kenneth Lonergan
Kenneth Lonergan (born October 16, 1962) is an American film director, playwright, and screenwriter. He is the co-writer of the film ''Gangs of New York'' (2002), and wrote and directed '' You Can Count on Me'' (2000), ''Margaret'' (2011), and ' ...
as part of a series to benefit the
Actors Fund of America
The Entertainment Community Fund, formerly The Actors Fund, is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that supports performers and behind-the-scenes workers in performing arts and entertainment, helping more than 17,000 people directly each year. S ...
charity in October of the same year.
Mescal has been in a relationship with singer
Phoebe Bridgers
Phoebe Lucille Bridgers (born August 17, 1994) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. She has released two solo albums, ''Stranger in the Alps'' (2017) and '' Punisher'' (2020), both of which received critical acclai ...
since 2020.
He appeared in Bridgers' music video for the song "Savior Complex", directed by
Phoebe Waller-Bridge
Phoebe Mary Waller-Bridge (born 14 July 1985) is an English actress and screenwriter. She is best known as the creator, head writer, and star of the BBC sitcom ''Fleabag'' (2016–2019), which was based on her one-woman show of the same name. ...
.
Filmography
Film
Television
Music videos
Theatre
Accolades
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mescal, Paul
1996 births
21st-century Irish male actors
Alumni of Trinity College Dublin
Best Actor BAFTA Award (television) winners
Gaelic football backs
Irish expatriates in England
Irish male stage actors
Irish male television actors
Kildare Gaelic footballers
Living people
Male actors from County Kildare
People associated with Trinity College Dublin
People from Maynooth