Paul Mescal has said he will start rationing his workload to avoid resenting his career.
The 29-year-old Kildare man shot to fame for his role as Connell Waldron in Normal People and his starring roles in films such as Gladiator II and Aftersun,
The actor, who also stars in two upcoming dramas, Hamnet and The History Of Sound, revealed that the growing film credits comes with a cost and that he may need to be more selective with his workload.
Speaking to The Guardian, Mescal said: "I’m five or six years into this now, and I feel very lucky. But I’m also learning that I don’t think I can go on doing it as much."
When asked if he is rationing himself, he said: "I think so. I’m gonna have to start doing that. For sure.
"Rationing doesn’t necessarily mean less.
"It means learning that films like The History Of Sound take more out of the well. You can’t keep going back and expect to consistently deliver something you’re proud of."
Mescal plays Lionel in the film which follows his character’s relationship with David, played by Josh O’Connor, after the pair meet in 1917 at the New England Conservatory, before travelling together to record folk songs in rural Maine in winter 1920.
He added: "What that (career) rationing looks like, I don’t know.
"I miss being on stage, so I might have a time when I’m only doing theatre for a couple of years. I also have different priorities in my personal life that I want to attend to.
"I don’t want to resent the thing I love. This sounds bold, but I’d rather not be on the train if that is the choice."
Mescal will next be seen in Chloe Zhao’s Hamnet, in which he plays William Shakespeare alongside Jessie Buckley as his wife Agnes, as they manage the grief of losing their son.
"Once I’ve finished promoting that, I hope nobody gets to see me until 2028 when I’m doing the Beatles," the actor added.
"People will get a break from me and I’ll get a break from them."
Mescal will also make his British National Theatre debut in 2027, staring in productions of A Whistle In The Dark and Death Of A Salesman.
It comes after he won an Olivier Award in 2023 for a stage adaptation of A Streetcar Named Desire, before starring in Gladiator II as an arena fighter who tries to bring down two maniacal Roman emperors.
He added: "I loved the process of making that film but The History of Sound felt like home to me. It’s where I’m most comfortable. I want to make more films like that versus ones on the scale of Gladiator II."
Directed by Oliver Hermanus, The History Of Sound will be released in cinemas on 23 January.
Source: Press Association.
