Paul Mescal has decided he’s going to lay low until 2028, which is when “Beatles,” in which he portrays Paul McCartney, is supposed to hit theaters.
Speaking to The Guardian, to promote his new movie The History of Sound, while simultaneously doing press for Chloé Zhao’s “Hamnet,” Mescal said, “People will get a break from me, and I’ll get a break from them,” over the next couple of years.
I'm five or six years into this now, and I feel very lucky. But I'm also learning that I don't think I can go on doing it as much.
“That’s the great fear,” added Mescal. “But what’s the alternative? 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.”
After this awards season wraps up, Mescal is set to shoot Sam Mendes’ Beatles movie. He also has Richard Linklater’s “Merrily We Roll Along,” which he is supposed to shoot every year until the decade ends, and then some.
Ever since his breakout TV role in “Normal People,” Mescal has broken into cinema by starring in nine films over the past five years: “The Lost Daughter,” “God’s Creatures,” “Aftersun,” “Carmen,” “All of Us Strangers,” “Foe,” “Gladiator II,” “The History of Sound,” and “Hamnet.”
Just my opinion, but I find Mescal to be an overhyped actor—much like Pedro Pascal—whose popularity seems driven more by social media buzz than by genuine acting clout. Again, this is just my personal take, and I’m not at all discounting his stellar work in “Aftersun,” but can we all agree he was in over his head in “Gladiator II”?