From Indies to Blockbusters, Paul Mescal Commands the Screen
Little Gold Men by Vanity Fair
Vanity Fair
4.2 • 1.2K Ratings
🗓️ 30 December 2025
⏱️ 32 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this episode from the archives, Rebecca talks with the Aftersun Oscar nominee and Hamnet star Paul Mescal, who starred last year in Ridley Scott's long-awaited Gladiator II. The indie darling reveals why he finally said yes to a blockbuster, the sage advice he got from his director, and why he's been working at such an intense pace since Normal People. Plus, he answers the Proust Questionnaire, revealing his greatest (mini) extravagance.
This episode originally aired on Nov. 19, 2024
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| 0:00.0 | Hello and welcome to Little Gold Men, Vanity Fair's podcast for film, TV, and awards lovers. |
| 0:10.9 | I'm Rebecca Ford. |
| 0:12.8 | Today we're once again digging into the archives and sharing a conversation I had last award season with Paul Meskel. |
| 0:19.9 | When we spoke, he was fresh off the premiere of Ridley Scott's Gladiator 2. |
| 0:24.9 | It was his first big blockbuster after a string of performances in independent projects |
| 0:29.4 | from all of us strangers to Afterson, for which he earned his first Oscar nomination in 2023. |
| 0:36.4 | Now that he's back in the Oscar-bound Hamnet, |
| 0:39.2 | we wanted to reshare that conversation. |
| 0:42.0 | We talked about what made him finally commit to a big studio movie, |
| 0:45.6 | how he's approached his increasing fame, |
| 0:47.9 | and what he thinks about people's obsession with his Gaelic football shorts. |
| 0:52.1 | Plus, we did a round of Proust Roulette to wrap things up. |
| 0:55.1 | Let's dive in. |
| 1:00.9 | I'm so excited to welcome Paul to the podcast. |
| 1:04.1 | It's the day after I've seen Gladiator 2, so it's fresh in my mind. |
| 1:08.3 | Paul, thank you for joining me. |
| 1:09.8 | No, thanks for helping me. |
| 1:11.1 | Tell me what it's like. |
| 1:12.4 | Last night, Paramount did sort of a big, glitzy premiere at all their theaters on the lot, |
| 1:18.2 | and you were there to introduce it and then do a Q&A after. |
| 1:21.7 | I know you'd seen the film already, but what does it like to know that now the public |
| 1:26.5 | is finally getting to see something you've worked on? |
... |
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