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Paul Mescal would rather not be just a click away.
Indeed, the 30-year-old admitted that after his breakout performance in 2020's Normal People, he simply couldn't stay active on social media.
"I had it when Normal People first started, and I remember thinking, 'Oh, if I keep it past this point, I'm fucked. In a recent interview with British GQ, he stated, "Then it's with me forever, and I'll be posting trailers and stuff. "It's so hard to avoid being watched and commented about."
"They might not even know your fucking work," according to him. "And they'll be like, 'Your fucking nose is too big.'"
While the Hamnet star isn't double tapping on any devices, he stated that having success without social media is quite the luxury.
"It is a privileged position because I am aware that I've been very lucky," he told me. "But I've never been hired by a studio; I've been hired by filmmakers, and I believe that's the most important thing for actors to remember. "I'm also aware that I might not always adhere to the model I've chosen because it may limit my ability to work."
Paul disagrees with the notion that some of his peers' success "wouldn't pan out" if they hadn't used social media regularly.
"That's an f--king shame," the Aftersun star admitted. "It is boring for studios to rely on that. We call out this absence of movie stars, and it's like, "Yeah, of course there's an absence: we see everyone all the fucking time!”
When it comes to the celebrity model he wants to emulate, Paul admires another well-known Paul.
"The whole point of Paul Newman being so great is that he'd rock up to the Venice Festival looking unbelievably chic and cool," he said of the late actor. "And then he would disappear."
Aside from avoiding social media, Paul and girlfriend Gracie Abrams are keeping their personal lives secure. Indeed, the Gladiator II star previously stated that he has no plans to reveal details about their low-key romance.
"Everything to do with that is deeply precious to me," Paul told Rolling Stone about their relationship in September. "I want to protect those things fundamentally."
