Normal People and Aftersun star Paul Mescal says people have been pronouncing his surname wrong since he became famous.
The Irish actor, who was recently nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal of a single dad in 2022 breakout film Aftersun, was speaking to The Hollywood Reporter when he discussed a common mispronunciation of his surname.
“People get confused with how to pronounce my name because of the drink Mezcal,” he said, revealing that he pronounces it with a softer ‘s’ and ‘a’.
“Everybody does it,” he added. “I pronounce it ‘Mescal’ and I wonder if I launched a tequila line I would have to, I would call it ‘Mescal’s Mezcal’.
“I’m on the fence, I’m on the fence about that one,” he added.
In a four-star review of Aftersun, NME wrote: “Liable to increase the cult around Mescal, following his BAFTA-winning turn in Normal People, Aftersun may be small in scale, but it leaves a distinct and lasting impression. No question, it’s the best British movie this year.”
Mescal’s fellow nominees in the Best Actor category at the 2023 Oscars include Austin Butler (Elvis), Brendan Fraser (The Whale), Colin Farrell (The Banshees Of Inisherin) and Bill Nighy (Living).
Elsewhere, Mescal is reportedly set to star in Ridley Scott’s upcoming Gladiator sequel as Lucius, the nephew of Joaquin Phoenix’s villain Commodus.
The actor also recently revealed he’s keeping his relationship status “private” following his rumoured split from Phoebe Bridgers.
“When Normal People came out, I was very forthright in interviews, and it didn’t actually serve me,” he said. “But the temptation still exists to be like: ‘Shut the fuck up. This is my life. This is what’s going on. Or this is what’s not going on.’”
He continued: “But moving forward as much as I can, that’s going to be my life that is private. That’s a difficult thing to achieve.
“But giving strangers an answer about my life doesn’t actually help me. It’s like a quick boost of serotonin, being like: “I’ve said what I need to say.’ And then it’s just Twitter fodder.”
