Paul Mescal Blames Social Media For "The Absence Of Movie Stars"

Paul Mescal has permanently logged off. Though the actor did have Instagram and Twitter accounts about six years ago (and his online presence famously played a part in his past relationship), he boldly deleted the apps right when he got his first taste of fame. Although things clearly still worked out for him, he wouldn’t advise other up-and-coming actors to follow his example.

Mescal detailed his decision to unplug in an interview with British GQ. “I had [social media] when Normal People was starting,” he said, referring to his 2020 series. “And I remember being like, ‘Oh, if I keep it past this point, I’m f*cked. Then it’s with me forever and I’ll be posting trailers and stuff.’”

His goal was to shift the focus away from himself as a person and onto his work. “It’s so hard to avoid being watched and commented about,” Mescal said. “They might not even know your f*cking work, and they’ll be like, ‘Your f*cking nose is too big.’”

Mescal’s social channels going dark hasn’t slowed down his acting gigs, although he admits it very easily could have. “It is a privileged position because I am aware that I’ve been very lucky,” Mescal said. “But I’ve never been hired by a studio – I’ve been hired by filmmakers, and I think that is the key thing for actors to remember.”

That being said, he would caution other actors who are on the rise against following his example. “I’m also acutely aware that I wouldn’t necessarily follow the model that I’ve chosen, because it might limit work accessibility,” he added.

While he recognizes that social media is hugely important in actors getting jobs these days, Mescal wishes that things were different.

“That’s a f*cking shame,” he said. “It’s boring for studios to be reliant on that. We call out this absence of movie stars, and it’s like, Yeah, of course there’s an absence: we see everybody the whole f*cking time!”