IRISH actor Paul Mescal has been named among Time Magazine’s most influential people for 2023.
The Kildare native, who hails from Maynooth, rose to fame in 2020 after appearing in the BBC adaptation of Sally Rooney's book Normal People.
He has since starred in a range of critically acclaimed films, including Aftersun, The Lost Daughter and God’s Creatures, and in April of this year won his first Olivier Award for his performance as Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire at the Almedia Theatre.
This week it was revealed that he had made it onto the Time 100 Next list.
Launched in 2019, the listicle celebrates “emerging leaders from around the world who are shaping the future and defining the next generation of leadership”.
Colin Farrell has penned a tribute to fellow actor Paul MescalIn a tribute featured within the listing, fellow actor Colin Farrell describes Mescal as one of the “finest actors”.
“Why is it that the finest actors leave us with the sense that we know them, even if they are—in life—unknown to us?” he asks.
“Paul Mescal exemplifies the answer to that question, for there is something indelibly honest about his work.
“Something that allows us a feeling of recognition. It’s not so much what he shows you, but instead what he makes of himself available for you to see.”
Farrell adds: “There are things that an artist can grow into: craft, a deepening of the heart. But there is an honesty to some actors so intrinsic that it forms the foundation upon which all else grows.
“The first time I saw Paul perform, what moved me was his ability to stand in silence and take in the world around him so I could experience it through him. I was riveted, and it has been the same in every performance since.
“It is the sincerity of his every word and gesture that makes me so excited for what he’s yet to share with us.”
Time 100 Next is a sister publication to Time’s original Most Influential People listicle, which was published in April.
Nicole Kidman praised Colin Farrell's 'Irish sensibility'Farrell, who was nominated for an Oscar this year for his role in The Banshees of Inisherin, featured within the Most Influential People list for 2023, alongside the likes of US President Joe Biden, serial entrepreneur Elon Musk and footballer Lionel Messi.
His listing included a tribute from fellow actor Nicole Kidman, who praised his “Irish sensibility”.
“When Colin Farrell and I starred together in the 2017 films The Beguiled and The Killing of a Sacred Deer, I felt like I had found both my knight in shining armor and my partner in crime,” Kidman said.
“He was very emotionally open with me, and I’m very protective of him.
“I admire his tenacity, his resilience, and his great sense of humor,” she added, “he’s got such an Irish kind of sensibility.
“Colin is an actor’s actor. He’s not frightened of tone or genre, and he’s very present.
“Ego is not attached to his performances. You really see that in the longevity of his nearly 30-year-long career.”
