Andrew Haigh reveals Paul Mescal wasn’t initially set to star in ‘All of Us Strangers’
Andrew Haigh, the filmmaker behind the new supernatural romance drama All of Us Strangers, has revealed exclusively to Far Out how Paul Mescal wasn’t initially set to star in the Bafta-nominated movie.
“Paul [Mescal] wasn’t actually available when we first started meeting and talking about people for Harry,” Haigh told Far Out in regards to last year’s Oscar nominee, who takes a leading role in All of Us Strangers beside Andrew Scott.
Continuing, the filmmaker added: “But, I’d met Paul once before, had a genuine meeting with him and really liked him. But then, he read the script and really wanted to do it, and I was like, ‘Well, of course. I would love you to do it’”.
Adapted from the book Strangers by Taichi Yamada, Haigh’s latest tells the story of Adam (Scott), a struggling screenwriter who revisits his old family home for inspiration for his coming-of-age tale. Yet, upon his arrival, he is greeted by the ghosts of his long-deceased parents, allowing him to build the relationship he was never allowed to have with them while also getting to know his mysterious new neighbour Harry (Mescal), who’s just moved into the same desolate London apartment block.
Speaking further in regards to his collaboration with Mescal, Haigh adds: “Paul’s great, because he would never just take a role without sitting down with the director and really trying to unpick what it’s about, all of the actors were like that which I think is so important”.
Boasting one of the finest casts of this year’s Bafta awards, where it is nominated for six gongs, including ‘Outstanding British Film of the Year’, Claire Foy and Jamie Bell join the ensemble as the spectral parents of the protagonist.
“All of the actors were so invested in the script and cared so much about it that when we were on set,” Haigh expressed, “The chemistry became inevitable because everybody was so keen to make it work and understand that essentially it’s a film about love”.
To read Far Out’s full feature interview with Haigh about All of Us Strangers, which is now in cinemas nationwide, visit here.
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