Paul Mescal’s new co-star Olivia Colman has joked she “couldn’t look him in the eye” after watching Normal People.
The actors star alongside each other in The Lost Daughter, which will be released on Netflix on December 31st.
Speaking to The Sun about working with Paul, the 47-year-old said: “I was a huge fan from watching Normal People and I was a bit giddy [when I met him].”
The 25-year-old, who hails from Co. Kildare, shot to fame in 2020 for playing Connell Waldron in the TV adaptation of Sally Rooney’s novel Normal People.
The film’s raunchy sex scenes sparked plenty of headlines at the time, and Paul was quickly dubbed a worldwide heartthrob.
Olivia continued: “I couldn’t look him in the eyes when we first met. He’s just so kind and nice and a good person. And he sings beautifully. He’s just lovely.”
“He’s the nicest and loveliest. He loves his family and he’s so brilliant in what he does. His work is beautiful.”
Paul and Olivia star alongside Dakota Johnson, Peter Sarsgaard and Jessie Buckley in The Lost Daughter, which is Maggie Gyllenhaal’s directorial debut.
Adapted from Elena Ferrante’s 2006 novel of the same name, the film’s synopsis reads: “Alone on a seaside vacation, Leda (Olivia Colman) becomes consumed with a young mother (Dakota Johnson) and daughter as she watches them on the beach.”
“Unnerved by their compelling relationship (and their raucous and menacing extended family), Leda is overwhelmed by her own memories of the terror, confusion, and intensity of early motherhood.”
“An impulsive act shocks Leda into the strange and ominous world of her own mind, where she is forced to face the unconventional choices she made as a young mother and their consequences.”
Paul’s role in The Lost Daughter was the first big acting job he landed after he shot to fame in Normal People last year.
The 25-year-old is also set to star in a movie adaptation of Carmen, which he filmed in Australia late last year.
The upcoming film will re-imagine one of the world’s most celebrated operas under the same name, penned by Oscar-winning screenwriter Alexander Dinelaris Jr.
The Kildare native will star alongside Melissa Barrera in the flick.
