The nominations for the 95th Academy Awards have finally been confirmed. In just over six weeks, hundreds of actors, writers and directors from around the world will come together in Los Angeles to recognise the most outstanding achievements in filmmaking from the past year.
Titans of Hollywood including Steven Spielberg, Colin Farrell and Jamie Lee Curtis are going up against a host of exciting new writers, directors, and actors in a bid for the prestigious trophy. Joining these filmmaking veterans in the Oscar discourse is young Irish actor Paul Mescal.
The up-and-coming star has caused a stir over the past 12 months for his performance in a critically acclaimed film, which has seen him already receive a wave of recognition this awards season. The 26-year-old, from Maynooth, County Kildare, had enjoyed a relatively sharp trajectory over the past few years, having only made his feature debut in 2021.
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Before that, Mescal spent several years working in theatre, landing his first role in 2017 as the titular character in a Dublin production of The Great Gatsby. Over the next few years, he landed stage roles in his native Ireland in productions including The Red Shoes and A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
His first television role came in 2020 in the BBC drama Normal People. Mescal starred alongside Daisy Edgar-Jones in the miniseries, in which he played popular student Connell Waldron.
Mescal’s performance in the 12-episode series earned him universal acclaim. He was named Best Actor at the BAFTA TV awards and was nominated for an Emmy and Critics’ Choice Award in the United States.
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Mescal then made his feature debut in 2021, alongside Oscar winner Olivia Colman in Maggie Gyllenhaal’s psychological drama The Lost Daughter. The film was well received and was nominated for three Oscars.
But it was the following year that would see Mescal star in the film that has defined his career so far. The Irishman bagged the lead role in the universally acclaimed drama Aftersun.
Written and directed by Charlotte Wells in her feature debut, the film centres on the relationship between 11-year-old Sophie (Frankie Corio) and her troubled young father, Calum (Mescal), as they spend a holiday together on the eve of his 31st birthday.
Aftersun earned Mescal a BAFTA nomination for Best Actor, and he has just bagged himself an Oscar nod, too. The film itself also picked up swathes of nominations and was voted British film magazine Sight and Sound’s best film of 2022.
The year 2022 was a busy one for the young actor, having also starred as a man accused of sexual assault in the psychological drama God’s Creatures, and the male lead in a film adaptation of the opera Carmen.
He topped off a stellar year by starring in a revival of Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire, which is running until February at London’s Almeida Theatre. In the play, Mescal stars as Stanley Kowalski, a role famously played by screen icon Marlon Brando.
He is set to star alongside Lady Bird actress Saoirse Ronan in science-fiction thriller Foe, based on the 2018 novel of the same name. He will also join Fleabag star Andrew Scott and The Crown’s Claire Foy in British fantasy drama Strangers.
Mescal has been in a relationship with 28-year-old American singer Phoebe Bridgers since 2020, and appeared in the music video for her song Savior Complex, directed by Fleabag star Phoebe Waller-Bridge.
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