Paul Mescal

Paul Mescal was raised in Maynooth, County Kildare. His mother, Dearbhla Mescal, worked in An Garda Síochána, while his father, Paul Mescal, was a schoolteacher who also acted semi-professionally. He has a younger brother, Donnacha, and a younger sister, singer-songwriter Nell Mescal.

Before focusing on acting, Mescal played Gaelic football for Kildare at minor and under-21 level and was a member of Maynooth GAA. He played as a defender and gave up the sport after suffering a jaw injury. At 16, he performed as the title character in a school production of The Phantom of the Opera, an experience that led him to pursue acting professionally.

Mescal studied at The Lir Academy at Trinity College Dublin and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in acting in 2017. He secured an agent before graduating and began his professional stage career with roles including Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby at Dublin's Gate Theatre.

Mescal made early appearances in theatre and television before landing the role that brought him international recognition. He played Connell Waldron in Normal People, the 2020 BBC and Hulu miniseries adapted from Sally Rooney's novel. The drama follows Connell and Marianne, played by Daisy Edgar-Jones, as their relationship develops from adolescence into adulthood.

Mescal's chemistry with Edgar-Jones became a central feature of the series, and his performance received widespread critical acclaim. He won the BAFTA Television Award for Best Actor and received nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award and a Critics' Choice Television Award.

The role also connected Mescal with his own experience of Gaelic football and Trinity College, both of which are part of Connell's character. He later appeared in the Channel 5 miniseries The Deceived and the short film Drifting.

Mescal made his feature-film debut in Maggie Gyllenhaal's The Lost Daughter in 2021. He followed it with roles in God's Creatures, Aftersun, and Carmen, which premiered at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival. In Aftersun, he played Calum, a troubled father spending a holiday in Turkey with his 11-year-old daughter, played by Frankie Corio. The performance earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.

His subsequent film work included All of Us Strangers, in which he starred alongside Andrew Scott, and Foe, opposite Saoirse Ronan. He then took the lead role of Lucius in Ridley Scott's Gladiator II. To prepare for the film, Mescal undertook six months of strength training, horse training, fight choreography, and sword fighting.

In Hamnet, directed by Chloé Zhao and adapted from Maggie O'Farrell's novel, Mescal portrays William Shakespeare. He also stars opposite Josh O'Connor in The History of Sound and is set to play Paul McCartney in Sam Mendes' four-part Beatles film project. Mescal replaced Blake Jenner as Franklin Shepard in Richard Linklater's Merrily We Roll Along, a film planned to be made over 20 years.

Mescal began his professional career on the stage, appearing in Dublin productions of The Great Gatsby, The Red Shoes, Asking for It, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. He also made his London stage debut in The Plough and the Stars at the Lyric Hammersmith and performed in The Lieutenant of Inishmore at Dublin's Gaiety Theatre in 2020.

In 2022, Mescal played Stanley Kowalski in a revival of Tennessee Williams's A Streetcar Named Desire at the Almeida Theatre. The production transferred to London's West End in 2023, and Mescal won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor for his performance.

He returned to the role in later London and New York engagements. His announced stage work includes A Whistle in the Dark at the Abbey Theatre and London's National Theatre, as well as Death of a Salesman at the National Theatre.

Mescal speaks English and Irish. He moved from Ireland to London in 2020, plays the piano, and has performed songs with his sister Nell Mescal. He also performed spoken word and sang with Dermot Kennedy during a 2020 livestream from London's Natural History Museum.

Mescal has spoken publicly about therapy and mental health, including his experience of mild depression. He has also expressed a preference for keeping his personal life private. He was in a relationship with singer Phoebe Bridgers from 2020 until December 2022, appearing in her music video for "Savior Complex" and contributing backing vocals to her cover of "So Much Wine".

Mescal has been in a relationship with singer-songwriter Gracie Abrams since 2024. He is credited as a co-writer on Abrams' song "Imaginary Friend".