Paul Mescal was left horrified after shooting to fame in 2020 when a crazed fan ran up to him during a night out to tell him that she had naked screenshots of him on her phone.
The Irish actor, 26, became a household name during the pandemic when he starred as Connell Waldron in BBC 3's Normal People alongside co-star, Daisy Edgar-Jones who played Marianne Sheridan in the heartbreaking coming-of-age drama series.
Previous to his starring role in Normal People, Paul had predominantly played small parts on Irish TV productions, and had been a successful theatre star - so when he was catapulted to fame - with the likes of Harry Styles and Kourtney Kardashian gushing over his talents - it was a huge adjustment for the young Irish actor.
As a result of the phenomenal success of BBC's adaption of Sally Rooney's best-selling novel, Paul's life completely changed and he couldn't leave his house without being recognised.
Opening up about the bad parts of being famous, Paul admitted that some of his fans have been exceptionally rude when bumping into him out in public.
On one instance, Paul was left completely horrified after one female fan bragged about having pictures of his naked body on her phone which she had screenshotted from X-rated scenes in Normal People.
During the show, Paul and his co-star Daisy part-took in full-frontal nudity - an aspect of the show which stirred up controversy in Ireland.
In a new interview with British GQ, Paul discussed the awkward interaction with the fan which left him feeling 'terrible'.
The actor said he was out with friends in London, not long after the show came out, when they ran into a group of women celebrating a hen do.
The woman said to him: "I didn't think the show was any good but I saw your willy and I have a photo."
"I remember that was the first time that I was really angry. I was like, 'That's f***ing rude!' It's embarrassing for you, it's embarrassing for me, it's embarrassing for my friends and now I have to say no to you. But luckily they are the anomaly," he told the publication.
Following on from his success in Normal People, Paul has gone on to make a huge name for himself in Hollywood.
At the end of 2021, he made his film debut in Netflix's The Lost Daughter alongside Olivia Colman and Dakota Johnson.
In September, he starred in the critically acclaimed film God's Creatures, and this November he starred as a young dad in the movie ' Aftersun' - a role that's earned him considerable Oscar buzz.
