Emmys 2020: Normal People star Paul Mescal on his shock nomination and how series about young love struck a chord
- Unknown Irish actor is up against Hugh Jackman, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Irons and Jeremy Pope for the award for best lead actor in a limited series
- Mescal says Normal People reminds viewers how important intimacy is in our lives, and how ‘when it’s taken away from us, it can be really, really hard’
It probably does not compare to the intensity brought on by a first love. But Paul Mescal, whose soulful and achy portrayal of Connell Waldron in Hulu’s adaptation of Sarah Rooney’s Normal People kept viewers company during quarantine, described being a first-time Emmy nominee with a sense of euphoria.
“I’m on Cloud 10,” he says, calling from the UK, where he was wrapping up rehearsals for a gig with musician Dermot Kennedy that took place at the Natural History Museum recently.
The 24-year-old actor was nominated for lead actor in a limited series for his performance as the popular high school sports star who gets involved in a tortured love saga with an intelligent loner from a wealthy family (Daisy Edgar-Jones) in the Ireland-set series.
Mescal is nominated alongside Jeremy Irons (Watchmen), Jeremy Pope (Succession), Mark Ruffalo (I Know This Much is True), and Hugh Jackman (Bad Education). Mescal talked about the show’s popularity and the attention he has been getting.
Does it even feel real, given how fraught this year has been? How do you even process it?