Meeting Mescal. As I meet Mescal, once again, at a real turning point in his career, I take stock: no missteps to report. No teen series that haunts their past, no embarrassing performances (well, there’s an old sausage commercial: “It paid my rent for five months, so not a bad word about it”). And its future, where possibilities already abound, looks even brighter. In short, it was great to be Paul Mescal in 2020, and it’s still great to be Paul Mescal today. Even better. “I know that Gladiator is by far the most important thing I have done in terms of accountability to the public and the number of people who will access it. But I think I now have a strong enough personal infrastructure in place to know where I want to go as an actor. It’s not like I’m going all out.”
There are some very big films in the pipeline, others more modest. A return to the stage, too. He would like to work with many filmmakers. Or work again: he dreams of a “De Niro-Scorsese-style relationship” with Charlotte Wells, the director ofAfter sun. And the rumors of a Beatles biopic, in which he would play Paul McCartney? “I would love to be involved, but nothing is set in stone.”
He has already signed on for another project which, through the unique commitment it requires, will fit perfectly with the stages of his life: an adaptation of Merrily We Roll Alongfilmed by Richard Linklater over a period of twenty years. Already director of the famous Boyhood shot over a period of twelve years, the latter embarks on an ambitious rereading of Stephen Sondheim’s cult musical comedy, which tells the story of the intersecting journeys of three friends over two decades. Mescal plays Franklin Shepard, a charismatic composer who finds success at the expense of his relationships with friends and family.
The troupe, which includes musical comedy stalwarts Beanie Feldstein and Ben Platt, reunites every two years to film a part of the story. Due to the story’s reverse chronology, what he’s filming right now will happen at the very end of the film. By the time they finish this endeavor, it will probably be 2042. Mescal will be well into his forties by then. “I would really like not to become like Franklin, my character,” confides Paul. Yeah, I’d love to be settled down, married, with kids, that would be great.” It is difficult for him, however, to project himself so far into the future. He is still young and holds the present firmly in the palm of his hand.
Over the course of our conversation, I discover that another reason pushes him to hesitate to project himself into the future. “I was always convinced that I would not live to be old,” he said without any fear or pain. As he would say the sky is blue. I react as you would expect. “I know,” he said. People all react like that, but in my head, I don’t make a big deal out of it. It’s just a hunch. Maybe it’s linked to the fact that I can’t imagine myself as an 80-year-old guy.” You seem oddly comfortable with the idea. “But I’m also afraid of death. I believe that if death were to take me at 55, I would be just as afraid of it as I was at 90.” No one is ever truly ready. “No, in fact, I don’t believe those who say: ‘I feel ready.’ I say: ‘My ass!’” Where does this intuition come from? “It’s stuck in the back of my mind. Like, I have to have a young family. I won’t survive that long. I hope I’m wrong. I think I would be wrong. But that’s just the truth from my brain.”
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