Paul Mescal on 'surreal' Oscar nod, who he's bringing to the ceremony and celebration plans

The 27-year-old actor also talked about using his cúpla focal on the Baftas red carpet - and his teacher dad giving him grief afterward

Paul Mescal and Emily Watson with host Ryan Tubridy on Friday night's Late Late Show 

Paul Mescal has said getting an Oscar nomination for his Aftersun performance was "very surreal" - and revealed who he's bringing to the ceremony next month.

Appearing on the Late Late show on Friday, the Maynooth actor spoke about the moment he found out he had been nominated for an Oscar while Facetiming his family.

"My phone dropped," he said, "[I] started shaking". 

"There was lots of emotion that came with it. It wasn’t expected.

"I thought we were on the outside of the bubble," he admitted, "it’s just a dream come true, to be honest."

Speaking about the astonishing number of nominations for the Irish at this year's Academy Awards, Mescal said, "I think it's so important to celebrate the fact that this year is a particular surge in Irish nominations. But I also think...there's no reason why we shouldn't be pushing at this rate as much as we can."

Paul Mescal and Emily Watson with host Ryan Tubridy on Friday night's Late Late Show attached. Plus, host Ryan Tubridy with the Mescal family

"We have the writers, we've got some of the best, got a heritage of writing like no other country I think. 

"We've got the actors and we've got the directors. 

"I think it's up to probably the powers that be, the government or whatever, to support it in a way that we can continue this moving forward."

The actor also touched on his use of his cúpla focal on the Baftas red carpet on Sunday.

"I'm very proud of the Irish that I have and I think it is important to not gatekeep the language and that if you have your cúpla focal absolutely use it."

He added, however, that his dad, a teacher, had given him "grief" over his Gaeilge, asking "what was that?!' when he saw the interview. 

But, he still plans to bring Paul Sr along to the Oscars, along with his mother Dearbhla. 

"We’ll get dressed up, go to the ceremony, get a couple of drinks and get drunk," Mescal said.

The 27-year-old actor, who brought his parents to the Bafta's last week, also brought them along to the Late Late Show tonight, as well as his grandparents.