Paul Mescal reveals why he left  social media... it's not why you'd expect

The Kildare actor opened up in a chat on the A24 Podcast with Honor Swinton Byrne (Tilda Swinton’s daughter)

Paul Mescal stars alongside The Crown's Olivia Colman in The Lost Daughter. Picture: Netflix

Paul Mescal has shared that he has left social media because he “deeply cares” what people think of him. The Kildare actor, who shot to fame following his portrayal of Connell in Normal People, said he has removed himself from social platforms in an effort to “put a bit of control around” his tendency to people-please.

“I have this innately in me,” he said, “but I don’t need to see what people think of me all the time.” 

The actor, who was in conversation with Honor Swinton Byrne (Tilda Swinton’s daughter) on The A24 Podcast, said he believes some people are able to navigate social media well, but he is “scared of it.”

I’m like well, this one person thinks this of me therefore that person is a representative of 90 per cent of the population, therefore I am hated.

“I know when you boil it down that’s not true but the loudest voice in the room to me is often the most negative,” he said “ and that definitely doesn’t help my work or my life.” 

“If I am being honest, I deeply care what people think of me,” he admitted. “Part of that is a problem, part of that is just innately who I am.

“You can’t be to everyone’s taste creatively, but I would love people to conclusively assume ‘he’s a good actor, he’s good at what he does’, that to me is what success looks like. But that’s an unhealthy mindset.” 

Paul Mescal with Normal People co-star Daisy Edgar-Jones 

While the Kildare actor said it was “totally ego-driven” he also acknowledged it was an important part of being an actor.

“I don’t feel like we [act] for ourselves. Part of us is doing it because we love doing it, but we’re making things for people to see and view and talk about, and with that comes a dissection of you as a person and as an actor.

“Where those two things line up is the centre point of my anxiety,” he admitted.

“That is the ugly part of my brain.” 

The 25-year-old also told Swinton-Byrne he was currently in the process of “figuring out” where he wants to be in the world.

“I always thought that would be easy, which was naive.

“I thought I might live in London for a couple of years and then come back home. I am definitely in flux now in terms of figuring out exactly where I want to be.” 

“I'm doing the cliché thing of living out of a suitcase which is wonderful but also at moments, there’s the anxiety of if shit hits the fan.. I love my family very much but I don’t necessarily want to go back to my own bedroom.” 

However, the actor said he has learned over the past few years that “displacement is part and parcel of it all.” 

In the course of the conversation, Mescal also discussed his fear of saying something wrong or changing his view on things with time.

“Listening back to interviews I did when Normal People was coming out… nothing we say has to be binary, the one thing that has to be binary is your core values, but the rest can move and change and I think it should.” 

“I am figuring myself out,” he said, “and I am going to try and start enjoying that process rather than being scared of it.”

Paul Mescal stars in The Lost Daughter alongside Olivia Coleman, Dakota Johnson and Peter Sarsgaard which will be available to watch on Netflix on New Year's Eve.