Paul Colm Michael Mescal (/ˈmɛskəl/ MESS-kəl; born 2 February 1996) is an Irish actor. Born in Maynooth, he studied acting at The Lir Academy and then performed in plays in Dublin theatres. He rose to fame with his role in the miniseries Normal People (2020), earning a BAFTA TV Award and a nomination for a Primetime Emmy Award.
Mescal progressed to film acting with roles in the psychological dramas The Lost Daughter (2021) and God's Creatures (2022). His starring roles as a troubled father in Aftersun (2022) and a mysterious neighbour in All of Us Strangers (2023) earned him nominations for BAFTA Film Awards in addition to a nomination for an Academy Award for the former. He received a Laurence Olivier Award for his portrayal of Stanley Kowalski in a 2022 revival of the play A Streetcar Named Desire. Mescal expanded to big-budget films with a leading role in the historical action film Gladiator II (2024).
In 1985, former superheroes are forced out of retirement when one of their own is murdered, leading Rorschach, a vigilante detective, to uncover a conspiracy that threatens to unravel the fragile peace between the United States and the Soviet Union.
