Who is Paul Mescal on Normal People?
SINCE Normal People hit our screens, Paul Mescal has received high praise for his portrayal of Connell Waldron.
But who is the actor, what has he been in before, and what has he said about the BBC version of Sally Rooney’s hit novel? Here's everything we know about the up-and-coming star…
Who is Paul Mescal?
Paul is 24-year-old actor born in 1996 in the Irish town of Maynooth near Dublin.
He is the son of Paul Mescal (member of the Republic of Ireland police service), and Dearbhla, a school teacher, and he has a brother Donnacha and a sister Nell, who is a singer.
Throughout school he played Gaelic football - including for an under-21s team for Kildare, and as a member of Maynooth GAA.
However, he was forced to give up the sport when he broke his jaw while studying at the prestigious Trinity College Dublin.
He graduated from university in 2017 with a Bachelor of Arts in Acting from the Lir Academy.
Which TV shows has Paul been in?
Normal People is Paul's first TV role - however he has had a wide range of theatre parts in Dublin and London.
After graduation, he took on the role of Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby and played the Prince in Hans Christian Andersen’s The Red Shoes - both at Dublin's Gate Theatre.
Paul has also played Lieutenant Langon in The Plough And The Stars at the Lyric Theatre and Gaiety Theatre in London.
He starred in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and A Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Man back in Dublin.
The actor is set to appear in upcoming comedy series Bump and has previously been seen on our screens in a sausage advert.
What has Paul said about Normal People?
Paul was cast as Connell a month before the part of Marianne was decided - and had to go through scenes with about ten actresses auditioning for the part.
But he has insisted he always knew it would be Daisy Edgar-Jones.
Speaking to Metro.co.uk, he said: "I was the only guy called back to the first set of chemistry reads, but they didn’t give me the part by then – it was awful.
"And before the next round of chemistry reads, they put me out of my misery, offered it to me, then I met Daisy and she was amazing. And then that was it."
Paul has acknowledged there was plenty of competition for his role at the time, telling The Guardian: "It’s one of those parts that you know quickly will be big."
MORE ON NORMAL PEOPLE
How do you watch Normal People?
The series concludes this evening (June 1, 2020) at 9pm on BBC One.
The whole series is also available to binge-watch in one go on BBC iPlayer right now.
The adaptation consists of 12 episodes which are around 30 minutes long.
The much anticipated series is perfect for lockdown viewing.