Paul Mescal shares why he’s stepped away from social media and explains that he’s not a fan of oversharing to promote his work.
Paul Mescal would prefer not to be accessible via a single click. The 30-year-old said that he was unable to remain active on social media following his breakthrough performance in the 2020 film Normal People.
“I had it when Normal People was starting, and I remember being like, ‘Oh, if I keep it past this point, I’m f--ked. Then it’s with me forever and I’ll be posting trailers and stuff,’” in an earlier interview, he informed British GQ. “It’s so hard to avoid being watched and commented about.”
“They might not even know your f--king work,” he continued. “And they’ll be like, ‘Your f--king nose is too big.’”
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The Hamnet star acknowledged that succeeding without social media is a privilege, even though he isn't using any devices.
“It is a privileged position because I am aware that I’ve been very lucky,” he clarified. “But I’ve never been hired by a studio – I’ve been hired by filmmakers, and I think that is the key thing for actors to remember. I’m also acutely aware that I wouldn’t necessarily follow the model that I’ve chosen, because it might limit work accessibility.”
Paul disagrees with the notion that some of his friends' achievement "wouldn't pan out" if they hadn't been active on social media.
“That’s a f--king shame,” the star of Aftersun remarked. “It’s boring for studios to be reliant on that. We call out this absence of movie stars, and it’s like, Yeah, of course there’s an absence: we see everybody the whole f--king time!”
Paul looks up to another well-known Paul as the celebrity role model he wishes to emulate.
“The whole point of Paul Newman being so great is that he’d rock up to the Venice Festival looking unbelievably chic and cool,” he spoke of the deceased film star. “And then he would disappear.”
In addition to avoiding social media, Paul and his girlfriend, Gracie Abrams, are keeping their personal lives secure. In fact, the Gladiator II actor already explained why he doesn't intend to divulge information about their low-key affair.
“Everything to do with that is deeply precious to me,” in September, Paul revealed their connection to Rolling Stone. “I want to protect those things fundamentally.”
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