How ‘Blue Valentine’ changed Paul Mescal’s career
Paul Mescal’s rise to the top has been fast. After breaking out in the TV adaptation of Normal People, his characterisation of sad boy Connell Waldron had the world sold on his talent. From then on, his roles in Aftersun and All Of Us Strangers have cemented Mescal as the new king of the sombre male lead.
Mescal had always been passionate about performing. As a teenager, he even stepped away from a promising Gaelic football career to focus on the arts. When he swapped the field for the stage, the world of local dramatics societies and school plays welcomed him with open arms.
After impressing in some small productions, he secured a place at the Lir Academy at Trinity College for his training. The college not only gave him a degree but gave him a thorough cinematic education thanks to his classmates.
Mescal described his college days as a “baptism by fire”. While he’d always loved acting, Mescal would be the first to admit that his knowledge when it came to the world of cinema was limited. “I didn’t have a big film upbringing,” he said. Movie night at the Mescals was more likely to involve a big blockbuster rather than some arthouse flick. “I kind of got into it when I was in drama school,” he continued.
In an attempt to play catch up, he studied hard at not just his compulsory classwork but also watched any and every recommendation passed down to him from his friends, peers or tutors. Amidst the busy watch list, one film stood out.
“One of the films that I saw in the early days in drama school was Blue Valentine,” he said. “I was asking friends what I should watch, and Blue Valentine just happened to be one of the first ones that my friend recommended.”
The 2010 drama starring Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling was a new type of movie for Mescal. It’s a devastating emotional ride but one that relies more on feeling rather than a busy plotline or big dramatic moments. Unlike the big Hollywood blockbusters the actor grew up on, this was more nuanced.
“I saw it and I was so deeply, profoundly upset by that film. I think it was the first time that I remember, like, truly wanting to switch off from the world for 10, 15, 20 minutes after the film,” he told the Oscars. “The performances and also the study of naturalism as a form of acting was so apparent to me in that film that it’s stuck with me ever since.”
There seem to be traces of the film in all of Mescal’s own work since. Especially in Normal People, his seemingly effortless and natural characterisation is exactly what made him a star. Similarly, in Aftersun, he played the depressed single father so beautifully and subtly, letting the emotions bubble away under the surface of all of his lines without having it be too in your face or obvious. He’s become a master of the unassuming, taking on roles that hit you right in your heart when you least expect it. No doubt, that’s what he got from Blue Valentine.
