Paul Mescal has revealed the heartbreaking reason why he resonated with his Normal People character Connell.
In the series, Connell becomes depressed after an old friend from school commits suicide.
Speaking to The Independent, the 24-year-old revealed why he was “nervous” about portraying his character’s depression.
“Three people killed themselves at my school. So it’s not fictional to me, it’s real, and I was really nervous portraying it,” he said.
“My innocence was ripped away very quickly. You think you’re a big boy at 14 but you’re not. You’re still a child,” he said.
“The distinct feeling I remember having at the time is that I didn’t know how to perform sadness in the way I saw other people around me being sad.”
“I was nervous people didn’t think I was sad enough. I found the whole thing incredibly confusing and, in hindsight, formative.”
“I wasn’t particularly close to the person, but that kind of sadness permeates through an entire year group,” he added.
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Plus Ali and Kendra delve deep into the new hit series Normal People, and THOSE controversial sex scenes:
