Normal People Paul star tells of strange offer after football scenes in hit drama
NORMAL People star Paul Mescal was asked to join a football team after starring in the hit show.
The 24-year-old actor revealed a London GAA club contacted his agent after seeing him play on TV.
Paul, who has been in London since two days before the lockdown, is a talented footballer who has lined out for his home county of Kildare.
He said: “It’s so funny there are Gaelic football clubs in London and because I have been talking a little bit about Gaelic football there is a team in London called Thomas Mccurtains who reached out to my agent as if it was a job.
“[They] were like, ‘We were just wondering if Paul would ever consider coming back and playing Gaelic football?’, a really formal email to my agent.”
He told the Nick Grimshaw on BBC radio he had been living on his own in his new apartment in Britain since moving there in March – so was finding it difficult to gauge reaction to Normal People. Paul added: ‘It’s a little bit nuts at the moment but I’m really enjoying it and it’s just been crazy trying to gauge the response that people seem to be having to the show.
“It’s really, really exciting. I’m isolating by myself so it’s weird. All the kind of positivity I’m getting is through my phone and through social media but when I put it down nothing is really any different, I’m still staring at the same four walls. It’s just crazy. I’m on my Toblerone [own].
“It’s just crazy. You kind of dream of being involved in a show that has this kind of public response and then I never really anticipated being stuck in East London having just moved over here [just] before lockdown even started.
“The weeks are kind of blending in with each other but it was two days before Boris announced the lockdown I moved over. Amazing timing.”
But he says he has started to be recognised walking down the street.
He added: “There was a funny one yesterday. I was going into the Co-op and someone just screamed, ‘Go on Sligo!’ right in my face and I jumped a little bit and went bright red and went about buying my essentials.” Paul said he watched the episodes during filming but hasn’t got used to seeing the sex scenes.
He added: “It wouldn’t be my cup of tea, let’s just say that. I think I’m good at disassociating myself from Connell and it does make watching it a little less painful. It’s funny, the nudity in the show has become normal to me.
“Like the episodes that went on BBC One last night, there was like a full-on full frontal shot in that episode.
“But it’s a different thing for me than it is my family, than it is my friends, than it is to like ‘normal people’ – excuse the pun – watching the show.”
Paul was also amused to see someone had been replying to fans contacting his character Connell Waldron’s email.
He added: “There has been somebody responding from somewhere to email accounts, it wasn’t me. I’m not the kind of person who is going to immediately change my email to Connell Waldron.”