Paul Mescal says Oscar nomination is “absurd” and took time off to help his mother battle cancer

Paul Mescal announced his Oscar nomination after the sun He had an “absurd” moment in his life, but it has provided welcome relief for his family as they go through a difficult time.

In his first interview since being nominated for best lead actor, the Irish star told BBC Radio 4 today Show that he is still processing the achievement.

“It’s all a bit overwhelming, especially for my family, because I don’t think anyone or even I was expecting this,” he said. “I always knew I wanted to work hard, but when the nominations came out, and the BAFTAs the week before, something about it felt a bit off.”

He added: “[There is] Which is hard to do at home and it gave my family a very welcome break. And yes, we will have a great time as a family. They’re all coming to LA.”

Mescal’s sister, Nell Mescal, revealed on the day of her Oscar nomination that their mother was undergoing treatment for bone marrow cancer. “My mom got a haircut today in preparation for her chemotherapy and then Paul got nominated for an Oscar. Life is so crazy,” he tweeted.

“The universe works in very interesting ways,” Mescal told the BBC.

The 27-year-old joked that, even with recognition from the Academy Awards, he couldn’t avoid a sausage ad ahead of his breakthrough role in Ireland. ordinary people. Mescal starred in commercials for Denny’s and his compatriots regularly remind him of this.

“It’s a little bit of Irish folklore now. If I ever think I’m too big for my boots, it pops up somewhere that we shouldn’t forget that I was promoting sausages when I got out of drama school,” he said.

“It’s also a funny joke. I trained in drama school for three years, taking it so seriously. It was, I loved the craft of it, and then I was poor. I didn’t have any money and then my agent was like, ‘I don’t know how you’re going to deal with this, but we’ve got a sausage ad that you can go on.’ I was just like. I have to pay the rent.”