It seems some people enjoyed Paul Mescal’s steamy sex scenes in Normal People a little too much.
The Lost Daughter star reflected on the sexualisation he experienced after the debut of his breakout role in the hit 2020 BBC miniseries in a profile published in GQ.
In the adaptation of Sally Rooney’s novel, Normal People, Paul played the shy Connell, who has a complicated years-long romance with his classmate, Marianne (Daisy Edgar-Jones). The show was praised for its realistic and intimate sex scenes that featured both Paul and Daisy completely nude.
Although the miniseries made the refreshing albeit controversial decision to feature both its female and male characters’ naughty bits, the unconventional move has led to a lot of discomfort for the Irish actor.
The God’s Creatures star told GQ that he had one incredibly inappropriate encounter with a woman who had watched Normal People while he was out with a bunch of his friends in Ireland. He noted to the magazine that the woman was part of a bachelorette party and stumbled up to inform him that she had taken a naked screenshot of him from Normal People — and also asked if she could snap a photo with him.
“I didn’t think the show was any good but I saw your willy and I have a photo!” Paul recalled the stranger saying to him.
“I remember that was the first time that I was really angry. I was like, ‘That’s fucking 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.”
This is not the first time Paul has expressed the unease he felt in the wake of the miniseries.
He told Elle in 2020 that he felt “objectified after Normal People.”
“It’s to be expected, given the intimacy of my scenes, but it doesn’t make it easier,” he told Elle at the time. “I daren’t read some of the intense DMs I receive.”
To read the profile in full, head over to GQ.