Paul Mescal is looking to take a break from the spotlight after his career has taken a nosedive over the past few years.
After breaking through into the world of cinema with 2022's After the Sun, which earned the 29-year-old Irish actor his first Oscar nomination, Mescal made his blockbuster debut with 2024's Gladiator 2 and starred in both the indie romance The Story of Sound and the high-profile award contenderHamnet” last year. He'll next play Paul McCartney in Sam Mendes' four Beatles anthology films due out in 2028, but hopes to keep a low profile until then as he told The Guardian in an interview with his History of Sound co-star Josh O'Connor.
“I've been doing this for five or six years now, and I feel very lucky. But I also realize that I don't think I can continue doing this as much,” Mescal said. When asked if this meant “rationing” his workload, he replied: “I think so. I'll have to start doing this. Certainly”. However, Mescal added that “rationing does not necessarily mean less.”
“What this means is to understand that films like The Story of Sound draw more from the well,” he explained. “You can't keep coming back and expect to constantly show something you're proud of. What that rationing looks like, I don't know. I miss being on stage, so maybe I'll have time where I'll only do theater for a couple of years. I also have other priorities in my personal life that I want to attend to.”
But is Mescal worried that his burgeoning career could lose momentum if he disappears for a while? “That's the biggest fear,” he said. “But what's the alternative? I don't want to be offended by something I love. It sounds brave, but I'd rather not take the train if I had that choice.”
Except The Beatles With biopics starring alongside Harris Dickinson as John Lennon, Joseph Quinn as George Harrison and Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr, Mescal has nothing else in the pipeline other than occasional roles in Richard Linklater's Merrily We Roll Along, which is filmed over two decades as the cast ages. However, he is currently in the midst of an awards campaign for Hamnet, Chloe Zhao's period drama in which he plays William Shakespeare. The film received rave reviews and generated Oscar buzz for Mescal and co-star Jessie Buckley.
“Once I'm done promoting this, I hope no one sees me until 2028, when I'm performing with the Beatles,” Mescal said. “People will get a break from me, and I will get a break from them.”
Read Mescal and O'Connor in full. Guardian interview here.
