Paul Mescal joins the cast of new Richard Linklater musical
Within the current landscape of cinema, Paul Mescal is undoubtedly among the greatest young acting talents. After starring in highly acclaimed projects such as Normal People and The Lost Daughter, Mescal has now joined the cast of Richard Linklater’s new musical Merrily We Roll Along, which will be shot over the course of 20 years.
Recently, Mescal earned widespread praise for his fantastic performance in one of the greatest films of 2022 – Aftersun. It features Mescal as a young father in a complex coming-of-age story revolving around his trip to Turkey with his 11-year-old daughter.
In a moving interview with i-d, Mescal said: “I felt like I’d lost something, or I had both lost and found something at the same time. There are moments in this movie that are like daggers to my heart. And I don’t think you need to be a father to relate to them.”
While talking about his character, the actor added: “Calum is very much a young man, but there is something more mature about him. That shifted the experience for me. It’s the first character I’ve played that has a degree of responsibility that extends beyond himself. I just love Calum. I think he’s a really impressive man. There’s something very noble to me about him.”
Mescal will be replacing Blake Jenner in the musical following reports of domestic abuse. Jenner accepted his wrongdoings in an Instagram video where he said that he takes “full responsibility and accountability for the hurt that I inflicted during my relationship with my past partner (Melissa Benoist) — emotionally, mentally, and yes, physically.”
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