Paul Mescal says rumors of him running away after dates upset his mom: 'Isn't that devastating?'
Calling the stories of him sprinting away after one-night stands "categorically untrue," the actor added, "If it was true, it'd be f‑‑‑ing bad, but as a rumor, it's funny."
Paul Mescal has seen those rumors about him — and so has his mom.
The Gladiator II star confirmed in a recent profile that he and his siblings encountered the memeified blind items suggesting that he will take his dates on a walk in the park and suddenly run away from them after a one-night stand. "We were looking at the videos and we were pissing ourselves at it," Mescal told GQ. "Categorically untrue. And we were laughing, laughing, laughing, laughing."
Unfortunately, they weren't the only members of the family to hear the rumblings about him. "The one thing that upset me was that I was in the kitchen, I remember my mum looking at the videos and she was getting upset," Mescal said. "Isn't that devastating? I was like, Oh, it's funny to us — my brother, me, my sister — because we know that this is the way the internet works. It's hilarious. If it was true, it'd be f---ing bad, but as a rumor, it's funny. Then I was like, Oh, if you're a mother, her impulse is to come out and be like, 'He wouldn't do this.'"
Related: Everything we know about Gladiator II so far
Elsewhere in the interview, the Aftersun and Normal People actor discussed maintaining his privacy as his stardom continues to rise. "I've learned that there's certain lines in the sand now for me that just are going to be impenetrable for the benefit of my own sanity, but also the benefit of my work," he said. "Because I think if you don't have those boundaries up in terms of lines in the sand in regards to your private life, people know way too much about you and then they can't invest in the imagined landscape of your character because they know what your favorite thing to eat for breakfast is."
In other words, don't expect this man to be honest in those "10 Things I Can't Live Without" videos.
Mescal understands that people are interested in his personal life, but he has no interest in sharing much about it. "I mean, the speculation has been kind of mad for the last X amount of years," he said. "I'm not comfortable inviting any access into that part of my life. How I am in my private life is so precious to me because I get very little of it, and it might be public interest, but it’s not public-obligated information."
However, the actor also noted that he doesn't necessarily mind if someone dislikes his work. "Better that somebody has a strong opinion about you rather than no opinion at all, even if it's wrong," he mused. "You know who you are behind closed doors, and that's the private bit that needs to be protected."
Mescal expects further publicity from his upcoming swords-and-sandals action drama. "I know Gladiator is by far and away the biggest thing I've done in terms of a public-facing responsibility, and the amount of people that are going to get to it. But I think I've now built in personal infrastructure where I know the map of what I want to be as an actor," he said. "So it's not the be-all and end-all."
Related: Connie Nielsen breaks down her emotional return to the Colosseum in 'insane' Gladiator II
He also acknowledged the rumor that he might play Paul McCartney in Sam Mendes' four-part Beatles biopic project: "I would love to be involved, but there's nothing set in stone."
Gladiator II hits theaters Nov. 22.
Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.