Paul Mescal Biography

Paul Mescal was born and raised in Maynooth, County Kildare. He played soccer during his school years but gave it up after a jaw injury. When he was 16, he made his stage debut playing the title role in the musical The Phantom of the Opera. This inspired him to audition for The Lir Academy at Trinity College Dublin. He was accepted and graduated in 2017 with a Bachelor of Arts in Acting.

Soon after, he was offered roles in two different plays and accepted the role of Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby at the Gate Theatre in Dublin.

The following year, he made his television debut on the drama miniseries Normal People on BBC Three, which aired on Hulu in the United States in 2020. He was well received in the role and won a British Academy Television Award for Best Actor for his work in the miniseries, as well as nominations from the Primetime Emmy awards and the Critics' Choice Television Awards.

Paul made his feature film debut in The Lost Daughter (2001), directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal and starring Olivia Colman. Both of his next films — God's Creatures (2022) and Aftersun (2022) — premiered at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival. He received his first Academy Award nomination for Aftersun in the Best Actor category, as well as a BAFTA nomination.

Paul makes his home in London. He enjoys playing piano in his spare time.

Filmography:

Carmen (2022)
Aftersun (2022)
God's Creatures (2022)
The Lost Daughter (2021)