Ronan heaped praise on her fellow Academy Award nominee for his performance in an advert for sausages early in his career.
Two of Ireland’s best actors, Saoirse Ronan and Paul Mescal have garnered well-deserved critical acclaim and awards recognition throughout their young careers.
The two are set to star in an upcoming science fiction film, and Ronan has heaped praise on her compatriot and co-star for a previous performance.
But no, not for such excellent displays in Normal People or Aftersun. Instead, Ronan has praised Mescal’s performance in an advert for Denny sausages.
Saoirse Ronan – one of Ireland’s pre-eminent actors
Ronan has garnered rightful acclaim for her acting abilities since her breakthrough performance in Atonement. Her display in Joe Wright’s 2007 film earned her a nomination for the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.
Since then, Ronan has gone from strength to strength. Her performances in Brooklyn, Lady Bird, and Little Women all saw her receive a further three Academy Award nominations, making her the second-youngest person to achieve four nominations.
Paul Mescal – Ronan’s co-star
Mescal made his name in the 2020 television adaptation of Sally Rooney’s novel, Normal People. His performance as Connell Waldron, alongside Daisy Edgar-Jones, received critical applause and culminated in a Best Actor award at the 2021 BAFTAs.
He has also starred in productions of seminal dramatic works, including A Streetcar Named Desire on London’s West End, and stage adaptations of literary works The Great Gatsby and A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.
While still relatively fledgling, his film career has already seen the Maynooth actor amass several award nominations, including for his performance in Charlotte Wells’s beautiful Scottish independent film, Aftersun.
Upcoming science fiction thriller, Foe, will see Ronan and Mescal play a married couple whose lives are disrupted by a stranger (Aaron Pierre) who arrives at their farm with strange news.
The Garth Davis-helmed project is based on Iain Reid’s novel of the same name. It is set to release on 6 October.
Denny sausages advert – Mescal’s first role
Before he was Connell Waldron, Jay Gatsby, or Stephen Dedalus, however, Mescal was a young lad in a sausage advert with travel aspirations.
Inspired by a story of the Denny family travelling the world, Mescal’s character asks his dad to pass him a globe. He spins the globe and plans to visit wherever it stops. Unfortunately for Mescal’s character, he only goes as far as the Mayo town of Ballyhaunis.
Speaking to Harper’s Bazaar, Mescal’s Foe co-star said that she knew he was destined to be a star after seeing this advert.
“The first time I saw Paul act was in a commercial for Denny’s sausages in Ireland,” Ronan said. “He’ll kill me for mentioning it, but — I’m not actually joking — that was the first time I went, ‘Oh, who’s that guy? He’s really good’”.
