Cillian Murphy hails Paul Mescal the “real deal”
Oppenheimer star Cillian Murphy has praised his compatriot Paul Mescal, labelling the Irish actor the “real deal”.
At the upcoming Baftas, set to take place at London’s Royal Festival Hall on February 18th, both figures are nominated. Mescal is shortlisted for ‘Best Supporting Actor’ for his role in All of Us Strangers opposite Andrew Scott, meanwhile, Murphy is up for ‘Best Leading Actor’ thanks to his performance in Oppenheimer.
While the two actors are yet to work together on a project, Murphy has thrown his support behind Mescal, who, later this year, is set to star in Ridley Scott’s upcoming blockbuster Gladiator 2.
During an interview with British GQ, while Murphy was walking past Trinity College in Dublin, where Mescal filmed Normal People, he said “He is the real deal. He is like a true movie star. They don’t come along that often. But luckily, they seem mostly to come from Ireland.”
Murphy added: “It’s a good time to be an Irish actor, it seems.”
Other Irish actors who have broke through in recent years include Barry Keoghan, who is nominated alongside Murphy in the ‘Best Leading Actor’ category for his performance in Saltburn.
For his starring role in Oppenheimer, Murphy is also nominated for ‘Best Actor’ at the Academy Awards, marking his first Oscar nomination.
Reacting to the news of his nod, Murphy previously said: “I don’t think you would have believed it or seen it as a possibility or anything like that; I just wanted to make theatre and make good theatre, and then you do a small part in a short film and then a small part in a film — we’ve talked about this really gradual process and I think that’s why I’m able to deal with it and able to enjoy it.”
The actor continued: “I’m like 48 and I’ve seen a lot and been doing it for 28 years now so I think I can understand how significant it is to me and how meaningful it is to me and to other people… You know, it’s been a long time in the business. I think as a youngster, it just didn’t seem a possibility anything like this.”
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