Paul Mescal has revealed he intends to start ‘ rationing ‘ his upcoming workload in a bid to prevent himself from staying in a career which he no longer enjoys
Paul Mescal is taking a huge step back from his acting career. The Irish star who found fame during the Coronavirus pandemic as Connell Waldron in the series Normal People has gone on to become one of the biggest names in the entertainment industry.
Since his TV debut in 2020, Mescal, 29, has gone on to land a string of huge roles, in the likes of Gladiator II, All of Us Strangers and also appearing on Saturday Night Live, as himself. But for Maynooth, County Kildare-born Paul, his main love is the theatre.
Despite this, Mescal is set to play Sir Paul McCartney in the upcoming Beatles biopic by Sam Mendes, and will also appear in two upcoming dramas, Hamnet and The History of Sound. But going into the New Year, he’s admitted he’s keen to slow down on his work front.
In a new interview, Paul explained he’s “five or six years” into his career, but while he feels very lucky, he says he doesn’t believe he can continue taking on so many roles.
When asked if he was rationing himself, Paul told The Guardian: “I think so, I’m gonna have to start doing that, for sure. Rationing doesn’t necessarily mean less”. Paul went on to explain that The History of Sound “takes more out of the well” and that an actor cannot keep returning to work and “consistently” deliver a performance they’re proud of.
Mescal plays Lionel in the film, which follows his character’s relationship with David]Josh O’Connor] after the pair meet in 1917 at the New England Conservatory, and then travel together to record folk songs in rural Maine in winter 1920, following the First World War.
He added: “What that (career) rationing looks like, I don’t know, I miss being on stage, so I might have a time when I’m only doing theatre for a couple of years, I also have different priorities in my personal life that I want to attend to. I don’t want to resent the thing I love. This sounds bold, but I’d rather not be on the train if that is the choice”.
Last year, Paul revealed that he would love nothing more than to become a dad. Currently, he’s dating singer Gracie Abrams. “I would love to have a family. I’m not like, ‘ I want them tomorrow, ‘ but I would love to have kids”, he said.
Currently, Paul is promoting Hamnet, about William Shakespeare, of which he plays the lead role of the legendary playwright and poet. He said: “Once I’ve finished promoting that, I hope nobody gets to see me until 2028 when I’m doing the Beatles. People will get a break from me, and I’ll get a break from them”.
Mescal will also make his National Theatre debut in 2027, starring in productions of A Whistle In The Dark and Death Of A Salesman. It comes after he won an Olivier Award in 2023 for a stage adaptation of A Streetcar Named Desire, before starring in Gladiator II as an arena fighter who tries to bring down two maniacal emperors.
However, he admits he loved making The History of Sound as it felt like “home” and allowed him to be the most comfortable he’s been. “I want to make more films like that versus ones on the scale of Gladiator II”, he explained.
Source: Mirror
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