Paul Mescal has described his Oscar nomination as “absurd” – but said it was a welcome distraction for his mother who is going through cancer treatment.
The Kildare native is up for Best Actor at this year’s Academy Awards for his role in Aftersun, which has also been nominated for three Baftas including for outstanding British film.
Mescal said the emotional timing of the nods were “overwhelming” for his family – but it’s provided some much needed respite for his mother Dearbhla.
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He told Martha Kearney on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: "I think it’s all a bit overwhelming, especially for my family, I don’t think anybody or even I was expecting this.
“I always knew I was willing to work hard, from the time of graduating from drama school to now hasn’t been an awfully long time. But last Tuesday, when the nominations came in and BAFTA the week before… something felt slightly absurd about it all.”
"There’s stuff going on at home that is difficult and this has given my family a very welcome respite, and we’re going to have a great time as a family. They’re all coming out to LA."
Kearney clarified that Mescal was referring to his mother preparing for chemotherapy on the same day that he received his Academy Award nomination, which had been announced by his sister Nell on Twitter.
The 27-year-old replied: "The universe works in kind of very interesting ways."
He also spoke about his role in the school musical production of Phantom Of The Opera which steered his career away from playing GAA.
He said: "I went to Maynooth Post Primary and they have this policy where regardless of whether you want to be in it or not, everybody’s going to be in the school musical and you have to audition.
"I feel like had it not been for that policy, I don’t know if I would have had the confidence to turn around to my friends who I was playing sport with and say, 'I want to be in the school musical’.
"So that policy afforded a kind of possibility and I think that changed my life forever."
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