23 January 2024 , 18:16
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Louis Theroux has ruthlessly mocked Paul Mescal by reminding him he owes his career to appearing in a sausage advert.
The 53-year-old journalist hosts a podcast on Spotify and enticed 27-year-old Irish actor Paul to be his latest guest. TV fans will of course know that Paul rose to prominence in 2020 when he starred as Connell Waldron in the hit BBC miniseries Normal People - and he has gone on to appear in the critically acclaimed films Aftersun and All of Us Strangers.
But before his starring role in Normal People, Paul became recognisable in Ireland for featuring in an advert for sausage brand Denny. The actor was shown munching on a sausage in the advert that preceded Normal People by two years.
Now, appearing on The Louis Theroux Podcast, Paul has been reminded of his humble career origins - with Louis confessing he mentioned the advert in order to bring him back down to earth. In a preview of their chat, Louis is seen grilling Paul, asking: “You got your big break on a sausage advert. How old were you?”
Louis Theroux grilled Paul Mescal over starring in a sausage advert (officiallouistheroux/Instagram)
Paul admitted being reminded of the advert kept him grounded (officiallouistheroux/Instagram)Paul replies: “I was too old to have said yes to a sausage advert, but I was desperate… It was around [the time of Normal People], it was probably… let’s say 2018… I remember not knowing how the spit bucket works on set.”
Alison Hammond, Florence Pugh, Viola Davis & Paul Mescal lead stars at BAFTAs
Louis then cut in to state: “Well I don’t think I know how that works. Because you do have to eat sausage.” Paul explains that he was expected to spit out the sausages after taking a bite, and said: “I just remember feeling it was so rude to spit out your food. A guy would come up with a bucket and I was like ‘No no no, it’s fine’.”
Alarmed, Louis asked: “How much sausage did you have to [eat]?” And Paul revealed: “Probably in excess of about ten I’d say. Too many sausages to be eating at 8am in the morning.”
Paul starred in an advert for sausage brand Denny in Ireland (Denny)As the pair start laughing, Louis presses on and asked: “Did you get some fame off of that?” Paul confirmed: “It’s something that people in Ireland reference a lot. To kind of bring me right back down.” And then revealing his ploy, Louis then teased: “That’s more or less why I did it.”
After appearing on Normal People, Paul won a slew of awards - gaining a Best Actor award from the TV BAFTAs and stands to win a Best Actor in a Supporting Role BAFTA for his role in All of Us Strangers. He is also expected to be catapulted to superstardom levels later this year when he plays the lead role in the long awaited Gladiator sequel.
However, Paul recently confessed he is scared of becoming famous - despite chasing a career in the spotlight.
He told The Times last week: “I don’t know what the difference will be. Maybe that’s naive? Is it just that more people will stop you in the street? I’d get profoundly depressed if that’s so and hope it isn’t true. I’ll have an answer next year, but if [the film] impacts my life in that way, I’ll be in a bad spot. I’d have to move on and do an obtuse play nobody wants to see.”