Paul Mescal, the Irish actor up for the Academy Award for Best Actor this year, has talked about the highs and lows of fame in a new interview. One of the downsides is fans who get too physical with him.
The 27-year-old was speaking to London’s ES magazine. He recounted an experience when he was recently performing in the classic A Streetcar Named Desire at London’s Almeida Theatre.
Paul Mescal photographed by Steve Harnacke for ES Magazine pic.twitter.com/DiztYSrscV
— Film Updates (@FilmUpdates) February 23, 2023
Mescal found fame with his starring role in the BBC drama, Normal People (2020). He said he ran into a fan outside the theatre recently. Speaking of the attention, he said, “97 percent of it is really nice. Then 3 percent is somebody, like, grabbing your ass.”
He then explained: “As we posed for it [photo], she put her hand on my ass. I thought it was an accident, so I like [awkwardly edges himself away], “but the hand followed. I remember tensing up and feeling just, like, fury.”
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
“I turned to her and said, ‘What’re you doing? Take your hand off my ass’. The last thing I want to do, is call somebody out in front of the theatre. It’s uncomfortable for everyone involved. But it was really not okay. It was so gross, creepy.”
Related: 5 celebrities share their embarrassing “modesty thong” stories
In A Streetcar Named Desire, Mescal takes on the role of Stanley. The acclaimed production will transfer to London’s West End next month.
Aftersun and Gladiator
Mescal’s Best Actor nomination is for his role in Aftersun. He plays Calum, a father with mental health challenges who takes a vacation with his 11-year-old daughter.
He is up against Austin Butler for Elvis, Colin Farrell for The Banshees of Inisherin, Brendan Fraser for The Whale and Bill Nighy for Living.
From small-town Irish actor to TV heart-throb and Oscar nominee, Paul Mescal covers this week’s issue of ES Magazine, photographed by Steve Harnacke. #PaulMescal pic.twitter.com/XfohMLqlBc
— ES Magazine (@ESMagOfficial) February 22, 2023
Mescal told ES he was looking forward to the evening but was not expecting to walk away with the trophy.
“Look, I’m not going to win. So it’s kind of low-stakes pressure. I can basically just sit back and enjoy it.”
Related: All the snubs, surprises, and LGBTQ+ nods from this year’s Oscar nominations
He went on to say that the sudden fame afforded him by Normal People took some getting used to.
“Like I had this woman who said she had a naked picture of me, a screenshot from the show, as the wallpaper on her phone. And it was mad to me — like, she wasn’t doing it to be incendiary, I think she was genuinely trying to tell me she was a big fan but it just felt very weird. I didn’t like it.”
“When Normal People came out, the attention was a bit affronting. It was like, ‘This is f*cking crazy.’ Now I’m a bit more comfortable with it. I realized, like, this can consume me and I can be pissed off with every person who has a naked picture of me stashed somewhere or I can just let it go. It’s the internet.”
He also notes that female stars tend to have things much worse when it comes to unwanted attention.
With his Oscar nomination, Mescal’s star is only set to rise. He’s due to begin filming Ridley Scott’s Gladiator sequel this summer.
LumpyPillows
Love me from afar, groupie…
bachy
For sure. It’s one thing to admire someone’s work in their chosen profession. It’s quite another to imagine you’ve been magically granted some kind of erotic intimacy with a film star who’s never met you.
It’s just an indicator the loneliness of the general mob. Any person who is or has been in a real relationship would know better than to fondle a total stranger while being photographed. Sadly, this kind of lonely, delusional, lovelorn (or sex obsessed) fan has been around since the origin of the movies (and no doubt long before that). It’s a feature of life in western civilization.
abfab
See a groomer about your skanky pits. Then retake the photos. I get it, some of us like this. Some can pull it off quite well, just not him.
JTinToronto
No way. Leave them alone. They look delicious.
Just.my.opinion
No one should ever show their armpits. I don’t enjoy seeing buttholes, either, but I prefer them over pits.
dbmcvey
Poor dears. The sight of unsightly body hair gives them the vapors.
bachy
Body hair is a secondary sex characteristic – which means it should be turning you on! I don’t understand people who are skeeved by male facial hair or body hair.
Den
“No one should ever show their armpits. ”
To be honest your opinions, shared so freely here paint you as a rather neurotic immature individual. Work on that rather than subjecting us to your self absorbed nature. I bet most people here would rather see Mr. Mescal’s armpits then your posts!
JJinAus
We’ve come to this? Normal body hair on a man is repulsive? I don’t care what women do. I like my men natural. It’s freakish for a man not to have any body hair. I’m GLAD I’m old.
dougie
He’s right to object to fans groping him without his permission. That’s just nasty and disrespectful. However, if he played a role on stage – in front of god and everybody else – in the nude, I have trouble understanding why he’d object to a fan’s photo of him in the nude. If he doesn’t want folks having nude photos of him, he probably should keep his clothes on on the stage.
BGreen1963
There are signs up & usually an announcement that photography is strictly prohibited in theatres. Taking home pictures of actors performing their craft is a violation of copyright laws and general decency. I don’t blame him.
Kangol2
Uh, no, Dougie. Many theaters are private businesses and have the right to regulate photography and video recordings, for a variety of reasons, so if the theater says don’t record, don’t do it. It’s a violation of their rules. There are also a number of plays that require male nudity, so the onus is on the theater-goer to behave like an adult and follow the rules, not the actor to have to police people snapping unpermitted photos and videos.
Pier
famous people have no rights… isnt that what the constitution says?
Openminded
Article 69
ddmtl
Hey Maluma, those are hairy amrpits!
4Rjunior
I love ? ??? hairy armpits. ?????????
4Rjunior
I love ? ??? hairy armpits. ?????????
Kangol2
Wrong article!
Fahd
Not approving, but a friend of mine’s mother used to say, “you’ll meet all kinds”. I guess Mescal’s figuring that out. Fame has its price.
I’m sure there are exceptions, but I notice that the biggest stars don’t publically complain about their fans, even the “creepy” fans.
bachy
A lot of them get restraining orders instead.
dbmcvey
I think that’s changing. You don’t lose your bodily autonomy once you become famous.
SDR94103
“I turned to her and said, ‘What’re you doing? Take your hand off my ass’.
It turned out to be his mother.
Peter
Hairy armpits are extremely masculine and sexy. I hate shaved armpits; that’s something women do.
abfab
No to shaving. No! But one can still use the attachments on a pro buzzer that every manly man should have. You know, when it’s done right it’s awfully nice. Manscaping for all!
bachy
Yes! Mangrooming is appropriate, especially if you’re going to be photographed semi-naked.
Preppy1000
Actually I’ve been shaving my pits for years now. I’m naturally smooth so it makes more sense. Also during the summer I ruined a lot of good shirts because of it. Since then I’ve had no problems.
Miles
Right now Paul is very accessible, but as his fame grows I am sure that will all change. His star will only shine brighter given his talent. He has taken much better photos than the ones featured in this article.
dbmcvey
In LA, where you run into actors and celebrities everywhere there’s an understanding that you don’t approach them, you don’t interrupt them, if they catch you looking you smile and nod. It is always wrong to physically accost people.
bachy
I corroborate this statement!
Kangol2
Same with New York City, though people often do photograph the famous folks even if they do not bother them for autographs, etc.
But you’ve omitted the paparazzi, who violate this unwritten understanding as a foundational principle of their business. It’s also more intense in parts of LA than NYC, where people can be a little bit more anonymous (or could).
dbmcvey
@Kangol2
Honestly, the only times I’ve recently seen paparazzi in LA it’s because someone’s publicists called them. In general, if they’re just eating at a restaurant or shopping the press isn’t showing up unless they’re involved in a scandal.