Bravest living actor Paul Mescal wades into Marvel and method acting discourse in one interview
Aftersun's Paul Mescal isn't much interested in The Method or being a Marvel star
It seems that in order to be considered a serious actor, one must choose a side in the great debates currently plaguing the industry: is Method acting cool, yes or no? Do you think Marvel movies are cinema, yes or no? And show your work, please! Up-and-coming Aftersun star Paul Mescal has now logged his answers, presumably feeling it would be easier to get both out of the way at once.
In a new GQ profile, it is revealed that Mescal stayed in a Scottish accent “for the entirety of Aftersun’s production,” but he is quick to say that he is not a Method actor. “I don’t really go in for it. What I don’t like is the performance of how it’s like, more difficult,” he says. “When you hear about actors essentially just fucking copying Daniel Day-Lewis, and copying stories about forgetting what his own fucking name is.”
He’s slightly more diplomatic where the Marvel Cinematic Universe is concerned, but it is, again, not something he’s interested in. “This will be something that I regret saying, but at the moment it’s not something… It’s not been asked of me. So I feel kind of like ridiculous saying no when it hasn’t been asked, but it’s not something that I am pining to do,” he admits. “I don’t know if I would have the patience required. And I am deeply envious of people who do have that patience.”
The Irish star is interested in doing “somethin’ a little bit shinier,” but he doesn’t want to get locked out of the indie scene like some other major actors we could name. “I’d struggle if that was taken away from me. And I think sometimes you have to make a decision to let that go for five, 10, 15 years and that would be really sad,” Mescal says. “I know that if I make that decision, I’m not going to wake up in five years time and be surprised I didn’t get time off to go to Turkey and make an independent film for two months. Knowledge is power.”
That said, he is not completely anti-franchise. “There’s definitely ones out there that I’m like, ‘For sure,’ and I would definitely not give it the commentators’ curse and name them in this interview.” Thank you for your participation in The Discourse, Mr. Mescal, and we salute your bravery for doing so!