Victor Boyko/Getty
Paul Mescal’s Bad Boy Image Could Ruin His Career in Hollywood: ‘He Must Control His Dark Side’
Gladiator II hunk Paul Mescal’s recent wild antics at Glastonbury Festival come as no surprise to insiders, who tell Life & Style exclusively that the Irish Hellraiser has dark secrets in his closet – worrying the folks in his Hollywood camp.
As Paul, 28, continues his dizzying rise from relative unknown to Hollywood’s next major leading man, an insider who’s spent time around him reveals, “When you see this guy acting you can just tell that he’s been through some serious stuff, and he’s somehow able to put that all up there on screen.”
“I’m not saying Paul needs to sand down his rough edges because those rough edges are partly what got him here in the first place,” the insider says. “We need more actors like that in Hollywood!”
The up-and-coming star started his career in theater, acting in productions of The Great Gatsby, The Red Shoes and The Plough and the Stars in Dublin and London. He made his screen debut in the TV show Bump before landing his breakthrough part in Normal People. After securing a few more silver screen spots, the Foe actor was picked up by Ridley Scott to star in the director’s massive upcoming sequel, Gladiator II.
Though, the source worries Paul isn’t taking his explosive career trajectory as seriously as he should be. The Ireland native was spotted by fans partying at the music festival late into the night … and appeared to be taking some deep inhales off a key after dunking it into a bag containing an unknown substance, The Sun reported.
An attendee at Glastonbury Festival noted that, “Paul didn’t seem to care if anyone could see him. He was dancing and laughing with his friends,” reported the U.K. paper.
“Paul needs to realize that he’s part of a much bigger machine now and any bad behavior off camera can have massive and cascading repercussions on dozens if not hundreds of careers tied to his latest film,” the source dishes, “especially with Gladiator II coming up and the persistent rumor that Paul is being scouted to anchor the upcoming Beatles biopic in the role of Paul McCartney.”
The All of Us Strangers actor, whose father is a police officer, has been in Hollywood ascendance for the past few years, but insiders fear his rising star may fall short if he doesn’t get his act together soon.
“It’s great to be the next Colin Farrell or Austin Butler but the real goal has to be realizing your full potential,” the source continues. “There’s a growing consensus that Paul’s old habits, and his party-boy lifestyle in general, are going to be his biggest obstacles in that regard.”
There’s no doubt everyone in Paul’s camp is both rooting for his success and worried that his late-night escapades could land him on ice, cooling any A-list hopes for the young Irishman. Luckily, the source spilled that Paul is aware that he needs to calm down and has actually been looking for a “good girl” type partner to settle him a bit.
The source lays out Paul’s next steps explicitly: “The mission could not be clearer: he must control his dark side — or else!”
