Paul Mescal appears in video for Phoebe Bridgers' single 'Savior Complex'
Paul Mescal, in the video for Phoebe Bridgers' Savior Complex single, directed by Phoebe Waller-Bridges
After being seen on holiday together in Kinsale earlier in the year, Normal People star Paul Mescal cuts a broken and brutalised figure as the protagonist in the video for Phoebe Bridgers' new single, 'Savior Complex'... or does he?
American indie/folk sensation Bridgers has had an incredible year in her solo singer-songwriter body of work, with second album coming in for critical acclaim and streaming/sales success, no mean feat for any artist amid the current circumstances, much less on the independent level.
Last week saw Bridgers, also of US indie outfits boygenius and Better Oblivion Community Centre, garner four Grammy nominations, for Best New Artist, Best Alternative Album, Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance.
The achievement comes after a string of recent singles, and an impromptu hit with a cover of Goo Goo Dolls' schmaltz-rock standard 'Iris', delivered as a duet with Maggie Rogers after promising to do so if Donald Trump lost the US Presidential Election.
Over the course of a year-long press cycle for her album, and amid all of this activity, Bridgers has loudly sung the praises of British actor, writer and producer Phoebe Waller-Bridge, an impromptu semi-namesake, and after the latter responded in kind, the pair collaborated via email on a plan for a video for single 'Savior Complex'.
Enter Mescal, dreamboat of the moment, whose starring role in the BBC's adaptation of Sally Rooney's romance/coming-of-age novel Normal People has propelled him to success around the world, including an Emmy nomination in the US.
The music video for “Savior Complex” by @phoebe_bridgers is here 🖤 Directed by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, starring @mescal_paul & Charlotte.
— Dead Oceans (@DeadOceans) December 1, 2020
🕳 https://t.co/AUdOunhLCU pic.twitter.com/c0CXwoSgZj
Mescal appears in the monochrome video for Bridger's fan-favourite, apparently battered, bedraggled and struggling with circumstances, accompanied by a canine friend that also appears at Bridgers' side as the video progresses and the plot thickens.
