The Anthony Hopkins movie Paul Mescal is obsessed with: “This is maybe fucked up”
All actors have that one star whom they look up to, considering them the ultimate benchmark of success.
There might not even be a specific reason why an actor is drawn to a certain performer – sometimes you just feel compelled by another, attracted to the presence they bring to the screen. For Paul Mescal, it’s Anthony Hopkins that he looks up to the most, and there’s one specific performance of his that he is obsessed with.
Mescal rose to prominence in 2020, with the release of Normal People providing the perfect binge-able entertainment for lockdown. Unable to leave our homes, millions of us loaded up BBC iPlayer to watch Mescal as Connell – often in the buff – embarking on a painful on-off relationship with Daisy Edgar-Jones’ Marianne. Based on the book by Sally Rooney, the show was a hit, and Mescal was praised for his nuanced performance, which saw him play a character with significant mental health struggles.
Following his impressive turn in the series, Mescal’s star power quickly rose, and it didn’t take him long to establish himself as one of his generation’s most popular actors. With roles in Aftersun (which earned him an Oscar nomination), All of Us Strangers, and Gladiator II, Mescal has shown himself to be a capable leading man, although it’s clear he is drawn to sensitive and emotionally complex characters.
It’s no surprise, then, that his favourite Hopkins film is The Remains of the Day, in which he plays a repressed butler whose obsession with perfection and loyalty proves detrimental. Mescal was floored by the performance the first time he saw it, and it’s one that he continuously revisits time and time again. Talking to Buzzfeed, the actor revealed that if he could play any part in cinema history, it would be “Anthony Hopkins’ character in The Remains of the Day.”
Directed by James Ivory, the movie was highly acclaimed upon its release, with Hopkins earning an Oscar nomination for his performance. When asked about his desert island picks, Mescal was firmly stuck on The Remains of the Day, which he even referred to as his comfort film. “Honestly, this is maybe fucked up, but Remains of the Day. There’s something kind of cosy and brilliant about that film. I’ll watch that once or twice a year.”
Evidently, Mescal likes to indulge in his sadness, but with Hopkins leading the film, you can hardly blame him. Talking to the Oscars, the actor also picked out The Remains of the Day as one of his top five favourites.
He explained, “Anthony Hopkins in anything, ever, always is my answer to that. I think it’s a study in a particular repression that is reserved for men. There’s just something so deeply sad and frustrating about watching Anthony Hopkins’ character trying to navigate expressing his feelings.”
Concluding, he added: “It’s such a masterful performance, and one that my dad will watch and quote frequently. ‘I read books, Miss Kenton, to further my grasp on the English language,’ and he’s holding his hand up to his face — it’s so sad!”
