All Of Us Strangers' Paul Mescal Explains What He Enjoys About Shooting Sex Scenes
Irish actor Paul Mescal broke out in 2020 with his role as Connell in the TV mini-series "Normal People," based on the novel by Sally Rooney. But even though his time in the spotlight has been short-lived, he's made the most of it, choosing scripts that require him to emotionally strip down — and sometimes physically strip down, too. While promoting his newest project, the movie "All of Us Strangers," Mescal told MTV that he's proud of the intimate scenes in the film and feels "a responsibility and obligation to do those things justice because they are important."
"All of Us Strangers" is a fantasy/romance about screenwriter Adam (played by "Fleabag's" Andrew Scott, AKA Hot Priest), who develops a romantic relationship with his mysterious neighbor Harry (Mescal). As the two men grow closer, Adam finds himself returning to his childhood home where his parents died when he was 12 years old, only to find them still living there, the same as he remembered them from 30 years ago.
The film tells two love stories: One of romantic love, and the other of familial love. And while Harry and Adam's storyline of sexual attraction and romantic feelings is secondary to the film's real narrative, Mescal says shooting those sex scenes was one of his favorite parts of the job.
He told MTV, "There's something really enjoyable about playing in them sometimes because you get to remove the pitfalls of dialogue. It's the purest kind of acting, if you think about it. You've gotta really go in there, and stand in front of somebody, and be seen, and see them, and listen to their body, and also check in, and see if they feel safe."
Paul Mescal is no stranger to sex scenes
Before breaking into the acting world, Paul Mescal played Gaelic football competitively, and perhaps it's his background as an athlete that has made him such an effective participant in film and TV sex scenes. In one response to "All of Us Strangers," EW's reviewer writes, "Scott and Mescal have electric chemistry; their love scenes are sweaty, intimate, and visceral ... it's sheer bliss to see these two objects of the internet's affection, who also happen to be acting powerhouses, loving up on each other."
It's always nice to see Mescal receiving the attention he deserves for his work, but real fans know that the actor has been turning in electric performances in intimate onscreen moments since his breakout role in "Normal People," a show that was dubbed "the raunchiest ever BBC show." In the mini-series, which was later released on Hulu, Mescal plays Connell, a well-liked jock who has a complex sexual relationship with Marianne (Daisy Edgar-Jones), one of his less popular former high school classmates. Connell struggles with emotional intimacy, but his relationship with Marianne is consistently physical — of the six-hour run time, 41 minutes are devoted to sex scenes, and the show features so many intimate moments that Marie Claire ranked them all.
While promoting the series on "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert," Mescal admitted he had to caution his family about watching parts of the show. But as far as filming went, he says, "We had an incredibly supportive team behind us that made those kinds of scenes feel the least awkward they could possibly feel."