Oct 18
Watch: *This* is the Surprising Classic Queer Film Paul Mescal Wishes He'd Been In
Kilian Melloy READ TIME: 2 MIN.
Paul Mescal, the dreamboat actor from "Aftersun" and the upcoming "Gladiator II," has a big gay following – and his LGBTQ+ fans will thrill to know what queer classic Mescal wishes he could have been in.
Having portrayed Andrew Scott's gay lover in "All of Us Strangers," and starring in out director Oliver Hermanus' upcoming "The History of Sound" opposite another matinee idol, "Challengers" and "God's Own Country" star Josh O'Connor, Mescal is clearly fine with queer roles.
But he's got a case of cinematic envy for a film that helped propel Al Pacino to stardom: Sidney Lumet's classic from 1975, "Dog Day Afternoon." "To be in that with Pacino would be pretty amazing," Mescal told British GQ in a video interview.
In that film, Pacino's character, Sonny Wortzik, and two friends bungle an attempt at a bank robbery, leading to a standoff with police. Wortzik wins the admiration of the crowd as the standoff progresses, but it's the motive for the robbery – to pay for his lover's gender confirmation surgery – that gives the film its queer spin.
The film is "Based on the real life John Wojtowicz, who tried to rob a bank in 1972 to pay for his wife Eden's gender reassignment surgery," a tweet from FilmUpdates recalled.
Aside from "Dog Day Afternoon," Mescal divulged, he'd have loved to have been in "any Cassavetes film with Gina Rowlands..."
Mescal spoke about a variety of subjects, including his reaction to finding out he'd been cast in "Gladiator II," the tough scenes he had to power through in the film and in the series "Normal People" (for which he was nominated for an Emmy), what he learned from Andrew Scott while making "All of Us Strangers," and his number one piece of advice for hopeful young actors: "Follow the dangerous thing... always take advice with a pinch of salt... [and] go to the theater, try to be on stage as much as you can," he said.
Words of wisdom, considering that in addition to his Emmy nom and his Oscar nom for "Aftersun," the accomplished 28-year-old took an Olivier Award for his turn on the boards in "A Streetcar Called Desire."
Watch Mescal's comments to British GQ below.
Kilian Melloy serves as EDGE Media Network's Associate Arts Editor and Staff Contributor. His professional memberships include the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, and the Boston Theater Critics Association's Elliot Norton Awards Committee.
