Paul Mescal is doing a late-awards-season interview blitz and, honestly, I’m not mad. I’m learning more about him and he seems like a solid guy. Not a lot of drama, he’s not bad-mouthing anyone, he’s enjoying his time as an Oscar nominee, he’s not full of pathos or neuroses. He’s just a chill Irish guy and he’s kind of a workaholic and that’s about it. Mescal covers the latest issue of ES Magazine to talk about his Oscar nomination, how he’s not going to win and how some women think they have the right to put their hands on his body. Nope – he should be a lot more upset about that than he is.
A woman sexually harassed/assaulted him recently: A woman asked him for a photo outside of the Almeida Theatre. ‘As we posed for it, she put her hand on my ass. I thought it was an accident, so I like…’ he gets up from his chair and shimmies awkwardly away from an imaginary hand, ‘but the hand followed. I remember tensing up and feeling just, like, fury. 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.’ This has been Mescal’s experience of fame so far, he tells me: ‘97 per cent of it is really nice — then 3 per cent is somebody, like, grabbing your ass.’
On his Oscar nomination: ‘Look, I’m not going to win. So it’s kind of low-stakes pressure, I can basically just sit back and enjoy it.’ It hits him every so often, he says, ‘like if I’ve a film coming out, now it will say, “Oscar-nominee Paul Mescal,” and I’m like, “Whoa that’s mad.” It’s just cool, I’m going to be at the thing I remember watching when I was growing up. And when they call out the best actors there’s going to be a camera on me and my mum, waiting to clap for — hopefully — Colin Farrell.’
On people objectifying him: “Now I’m a bit more comfortable with it. I realised, 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. The internet is this evil f***ing entity and it has so much power but it’s an exhausting hill to try and die on because you’re not going to win.’
Plus women have it so much worse: ‘Women have been objectified by men throughout history — and still are. Ultimately, I don’t want it to affect the choices I make. Nudity and sexuality in art and film and theatre are beautiful and important. It’s important that we don’t let the aftermath — the people [on the internet] who’re predatory and f***ed up — impact the choices that we make creatively. I insist with myself that that’s never going to happen.’
When the BBC called him a “British actor”: It led to more than 600 complaints to the corporation. ‘That’s what happens when you cross the Irish. They’ll come for you in their droves. I love that.’ He said it didn’t bother him too much but only because it happens so often. ‘It’s annoying but I’m unsurprised. It happened with the Emmys a few years ago as well, and I just tweeted, like, “I’m Irish.” I have more sympathy when it’s coming from an American because it’s so much further away for them. And, I mean, some Americans don’t know that there’s a difference between Scotland and Ireland. But when someone goes, “Oh you’re from the UK?” I’m always like, “No, I’m not from the UK — a lot of people have died for me to be able to say that I’m not from the UK. It’s an independent country.”’
“Nudity and sexuality in art and film and theatre are beautiful and important” – that’s kind of great that he feels that way? There’s so much talk these days about, like, the New Puritanism and the lack of nudity and sexuality in art, and he’s like – no, we need that stuff, it’s important for artistic reasons. He’s putting his bajingo out there for art and good for him. As for being assaulted – I do consider it assault and that woman is disgusting. You don’t put your hands on a man or woman like that and he easily could have made a much bigger deal about it too.
📸 Paul Mescal for ES Magazine! pic.twitter.com/RbNZdmAzEZ
— best of paul mescal (@paulmescalfiles) February 23, 2023
Cover courtesy of ES Magazine.
What that woman did is utterly disgusting. And if the shoe was on the other foot and a stranger had grabber HER ass she would have called it what it was – assault.
It really is very inappropriate. It feels really gross when a stranger touches you like that. I remember my then boyfriend and I were having a casual conversation with someone at a restaurant, we were on the same bench, and as we were leaving, this much older man slipped his hand up my back and touched my bare skin. It was a brief incident but it was so weird and just ick. Anyway, will have to check out this film Mescal is nominated for, and glad as an Irish actor he refuses to be lumped in with UK actors.
There was a lady on Twitter a few years ago who’d had her pictures taken with Chris Evans at a convention. She was bragging about how she’d gotten away with copping a feel. You can see her hand was below his belt. He had on jeans so I don’t know if he could tell or if, like Paul, didn’t feel he could call her out. And people were cheering her on! It was gross.
He seems to “get it” on a lot of levels. Crazy talented too. If he can avoid the pitfalls of fame (addiction, etc.) I think he might be huge.
Makes me sad that he worried about calling that woman out. People who do this can and should be called out loudly, absolute garbage behaviour.
“And, I mean, some Americans don’t know that there’s a difference between Scotland and Ireland. “
That’s so embarrassing but probably true.
Oh, it gets worse!
Years ago I worked in a bar in southern Europe and we had heaps of American customers, mostly servicemen and women. I’d often get asked where I was from and I’d say, “Scotland”. On several occasions the guy who look surprised and then say, “Wow, your English is really good.”
I wasin a training for people working in certain airline – people from all around Europe, among them people from the UK. They were asked for an example of domestic flight…
“London-Dublin”
“No, that’s international flight”
“Manchester-Dublin”
“No, that is still international flight”
The whole group was so exhausted with their… I do not even know who to name this wrongness. It was kind of funny, kind of scary.
I side eye Americans, because I always side eye this geopolitical/cultural inwardness (sorry, not sorry), but English people, they are something else… I was thinking, if someone from Germany tried to tell that Berlin-Vienna is a domestic flight, everybody (and English would be first probably) would scream: “Nazi”! But no, English are very happy with not recognizing independence.
For some of us, it’s less “inwardness” than flat out ignorance. I never had a European or World History course at any point, and such courses weren’t even offered in my high school.
And, to piggyback on Sealit’s comment, I’m from Washington, DC. The DC stands for District of Columbia. It is not uncommon for people traveling within the United States to have their ID questioned because we’re not really from a “state” and “District of Columbia” isn’t something that everyone immediately recognizes as being (a very important) part of the US.
It’s worse. Freshman year at college in Los Angeles someone asked where I was from. I said New Hampshire. She asked if that was in Canada.
An entire island of people that had their indigenous language and culture almost annihilated and their best land taken by English/Lowland Scottish colonists, then pushed into the areas of Ireland with the worst soil. Losing 80% of its forests between the 1600/1800s. Capped off with at least two attempts of genocide, the end result as the only western European nation with a smaller population now than it had in 1830. I have no idea why they wouldn’t want to be called British! /sarcasm
Those forests were used to build the British fleets which colonised so much of the world 🙁
MikMack- Wow, I had to look that up, the thing about the population of Ireland in 1830 vs now, and you’re right! Ireland has HALF the population now, that it had in 1830. Thats crazy!
I’ve never seen a country’s history expressed so succinctly. And sadly.
Beautifully stated — and much appreciated — history lesson!
You can say the exact same thing about all of North and South America, right down to the current number of the local/indigenous population…
“You can say the exact same thing about all of North and South America, right down to the current number of the local/indigenous population…”
You can indeed! It hurts my heart to think of what has been done, and is being done, to the indigenous peoples of the Americas.
(unless you’re an English person defensively engaging in “whataboutery” – but hopefully you’re not and meant it genuinely, as I did)
I’ve not heard of him before but he seems darling and real about what is going on around him. Busta Rymes had his ass grabbed by some woman in an airport and he tossed water at her from water bottle. He didn’t see her at first, just the feeling of someone assaulting him. It’s happened to me and it’s such a gross feeling and to be honest it STILL makes me angry.
I love what he said about Ireland and the lives that were lost so that he could proudly say he is Irish. The royals and MANY in England need to get that and get over this monarchy bullshit.
Good on him for acknowledging that women have it worse, I like his answers on everything. It is a big deal that he was grabbed like that and it’s assault.
Eff the British forever.
This is incredibly interesting. Taylor Swift sued a guy for exactly that behavior and she was right to do so. I think the only difference is that this is probably fairly new to him and as a guy he doesn’t feel physically threatened by women doing shit like that. But on principle, it’s the same. It’s not okay in any way and he should absolutely call the women out. Not all men like overt advances, they don’t love THIS kind of crap, they sometimes don’t want sex etc. and it’s important that they say so and don’t accept the sexist narratives. So good on him for speaking out. I have hopes for this next generation.
On a superficial note, I hate pics that show armpits. LOL On anyone. They’re just an inherently weird-looking bodypart.
I agree with everything you said. Except the armpits; my issue is feet. 😊
Ha, call me crazy but I find armpits sexy. I realize that does sound crazy, lol.
I don’t think Taylor brought the charges herself, someone else brought it to the police’s notice. Didn’t they accuse her of being attention seeking and she was like I didn’t even complain about it
@Lisa it did not become a police matter at any point. It became a legal matter because David Mueller sued her for defamation, alleging that he was wrongfully terminated from his job based on her complaints following a photo taken of them at a meet-and-greet. Taylor responded to his suit with a counter-suit for battery and sexual assault. His defamation suit was dismissed by the judge for insufficient evidence, and a jury found for Taylor on her battery and sexual assault suit (awarding her the symbolic $1 that she asked.)
Britain “prototyped” all of their evil colonizing methods on Ireland before imposing those methods on India, large swaths of Asia, Caribbean islands, Africa. Ireland was ground zero for the colonial era in many ways, suffered the full force of murderous oppression, resource and human exploitation, and enduring discrimination and bias, and lost millions upon millions to death, torture, and starvation. I’m so glad this actor said what he said. Too many people love the pageantry and “beauty” of British royalty without realizing the crimes that vile institution committed the world over for hundreds of years.
They even tried to take south america. they tried to invade my city 2 times and failed. it helped us organise into an army; even civillians would boil oil in their homes and dump it over english troops.
Yes, glad he didn’t gloss over it too, people need to remember the history, calling him British is insulting
This is the first comment on this site in a long time that I 100% agree with!
Mr. Jaded was a musician (he was the drummer for a major band back in the 70s) and one night after a set a woman came up to him while he was at the bar having a quiet beer and grabbed his behind. He was utterly shocked and told her to remove her hand immediately. Ever since then he’s had a great understanding and sympathy for what us women have to go through every fecking day. When I told him about some of the outright assaults I’ve experienced throughout my life he was sickened. I’m glad Mescal talked about this, he sounds like a really decent guy.
Paul is the new Russell Crowe, rugged but vulnerable, masculine and sensitive.
I will watch is career unfold. He is talented.
Okay. I love him, too, now. He does sound very cool and low-key, which is so refreshing. And yes, he’s Irish, not British. That makes him ten times sexier in my book. And I hope he wins (though I truly have no idea who is in his category). But good on you, Oscar nominee!