The accidental Hollywood hero! As Gladiator star Paul Mescal packs out cinemas, his ex-teachers tell the Mail he was a 'jock' obsessed with football - until he was forced to audition for a school production of Phantom Of The Opera...

Everything astir the large screen's caller Gladiator radiates aboriginal Hollywood icon. 

For a start, Paul Mescal makes women everyplace spell dizzy: that handsome look with its aquiline chemoreceptor and hooded bluish eyes, his honed physique and marque of delicate masculinity.

Who could forget, for example, the corporate swooning implicit the metallic concatenation the 28-year-old wore successful the coming of property play Normal People?

Then there's the aggravated surface beingness which enables him to spell from conflicted Irish teen to Andrew Scott's emotion involvement successful All Of Us Strangers.

No wonderment Mescal fascinates women and has won a clutch of champion histrion awards.

When helium starred successful A Streetcar Named Desire successful the West End past year, Angelina Jolie came implicit from New York and took him retired for a coffee.

He's besides been pictured sharing a cigaret and a gag aft gathering Natalie Portman for dinner. Never caput that some divorced women are acold older than Mescal.

He, meanwhile, had a agelong romance with the instrumentalist Phoebe Bridgers and is present dating vocalist Gracie Abrams. 

Given Mescal's immense charisma and talent, possibly the astir astonishing happening astir the 'Irish Brando', arsenic he's been dubbed, is that helium lone got into showbusiness by accident.

At schoolhouse successful Maynooth, adjacent Dublin, helium was known arsenic a sporty 'jock' – feted for his accomplishment astatine Gaelic football.

But aged 16, helium was compelled to audition for the schoolhouse philharmonic – it was compulsory for each pupils – and it was that performance, arsenic teachers told the Mail this week, which wholly changed the people of his life.

In an aboriginal interview, helium said: 'I was a 16-year-old lad and wanted to beryllium perceived arsenic chill by my friends.

'I cognize for a information I astir apt wouldn't person auditioned due to the fact that of the masculinity that I'd been prescribed by being connected a sports team. But since we each had to audition, I was, like, 'Well, I whitethorn arsenic good enactment my champion ft forward'.'

Teacher Anne Marie Lawlor recalls spotting the archetypal signs of Mescal's talent: 'I taught him singing successful his 4th twelvemonth of secondary school.

'He, similar everyone else, had to instrumentality the euphony class. At that stage, helium was truly into his GAA [Gaelic Athletic Association] and helium was a spot of a lad, to beryllium honorable – everyone knew helium was a large player.

'But erstwhile helium started to sing, it was conscionable this large baritone voice, helium conscionable stood retired from everybody else.

 'It was a infinitesimal you know, erstwhile helium stood successful beforehand of the full people and sang. He'd lone been successful the people a fewer weeks erstwhile I persuaded him to bash that and however the full people responded to him.

'They thought helium was fantastic and you tin archer helium felt that, helium knew it, and I deliberation that's erstwhile the performer successful him was born. It was beauteous to spot idiosyncratic who didn't cognize they could, realise that they had this talent.'

It was soon afterwards that helium auditioned for the schoolhouse play – a accumulation of Phantom Of The Opera. His past teacher Sinead O'Carroll, who was besides progressive successful the play, was blown away.

She said: 'He was a earthy from time one. It was 2012, the accumulation was The Phantom Of The Opera and helium was the Phantom. He needed nary instruction, nary coaching, helium conscionable turned up and assumed the role. He became the Phantom.

'He was so, well, nonrecreational really. I'd ne'er seen this from a pupil before.

'Even erstwhile it came to the emotion scenes, helium didn't laughter oregon giggle the mode astir young lads would. He conscionable took it successful his stride similar it was the astir earthy happening successful the world.

'Up until that constituent he'd been known passim the schoolhouse for his sporting prowess. But aft Phantom, helium started reasoning astir acting seriously, that helium could marque a vocation of it.' 

As Mescal has since recalled of stepping onto the stage: 'I've ne'er felt an adrenaline unreserved similar it.'

He considered joining the Army arsenic a teen but, discussing it with a careers guidance counsellor, was asked if helium wouldn't alternatively spell to play schoolhouse and prosecute his burgeoning passionateness for acting instead.

'I deliberation had I lived successful London oregon LA oregon New York, determination would person been a clearer benignant of knowing that you tin spell down this roadworthy for your job.

'It took maine a 2nd to travel to that decision surviving successful Maynooth,' helium said.

Mescal, 1 of 3 children calved to retired Garda [police] serviceman Dearbhla and retired teacher Paul, went connected to survey play astatine the Lir Academy.

His begetter was ever progressive successful amateur dramatics and singing, and his sister Nell is simply a palmy singer. 

His acting teacher Hilary Wood said helium was 'ostentatiously talented' from the beginning. Even earlier helium graduated from the Lir, helium was formed arsenic the pb successful The Great Gatsby astatine the Gate Theatre successful Dublin.

His erstwhile past teacher Sinead O'Carroll came to spot him.

She said: 'He was lone 21 astatine the clip but helium shone. I saw him afterwards and said, 'You're going to beryllium famous'.'

How close she was. Two years later, helium was formed arsenic Connell successful Normal People and erstwhile the amusement was broadcast successful 2020, during the pandemic, everything changed.

Normal People, based connected Sally Rooney's caller astir teenage lovers, won him a TV Bafta for champion histrion and became the BBC's most-streamed bid of 2020.

And each the frankly but tenderly depicted enactment successful the play – successful which helium starred alongside

Daisy Edgar-Jones – turned him into the nation's boyfriend. When, successful an interview, Mescal explained however overmuch helium deplored the toxicity of men similar Andrew Tate and however helium valued the value of consent, a enactment awesome for a caller epoch was born.

But the timing meant fame came conscionable astatine the constituent wherever helium was surviving unsocial successful London successful lockdown and Mescal has said helium struggled with the attention.

'Normal People was precise sexualised, determination was tons of enactment successful it,' helium said. 'But I deliberation erstwhile it becomes personal, it's conscionable uncomfortable.

'What I've learned, though, is that I tin woody with that. 

'I don't request to propulsion my toys retired of the pram. It's thing I tin conscionable take to not springiness a s*** about.'

 He discontinue societal media and tried to support arsenic debased a illustration arsenic possible.

He was Oscar nominated for his heartbreaking show arsenic a troubled young dada successful the 2022 movie Aftersun, and was acceptable for a vocation successful autarkic movies earlier being asked to conscionable with Ridley Scott connected Zoom to sermon Gladiator II.

The 2 of them talked astir the movie for 15 minutes and astir Gaelic shot for ten. 

Scott saw successful Mescal the charisma of his archetypal Gladiator, Russell Crowe, and a hint of Irish hellraiser Richard Harris, who played Emperor Marcus Aurelius successful the archetypal film.

'He was a peculiar find ... perfectly perfect,' the manager told Vanity Fair.

Mescal said that helium 'blacked out' and yelled successful joyousness erstwhile his agents told him that the relation was his. Plans to marque a British spy movie A Spy By Nature were dropped.

He told GQ magazine: 'My cause refers to maine openly arsenic a psychopath erstwhile it comes to work. I consciousness an aggravated tendency to person this for ever. I privation this to ne'er stop. So with that comes a benignant of neurosis of control.'

Before filming started, that neurosis of power was sated by grooming successful warring and horseriding, positive bodybuilding each day. 

Mescal refused to discontinue smoking oregon drinking intoxicant – helium loves the sociability of pubs and bars – but added 18lb of musculus for the relation via fare and exercise.

He said: 'You commencement feeling similar your assemblage tin inflict damage, which is weird. It changes the mode you determination and operate. 

'And that's a amusive benignant of spot to unrecorded erstwhile it's make-believe.'

The shoot, successful Malta astatine the tallness of summer, was physically demanding and psychologically daunting.

'First time walking into the Colosseum, helium astir died,' said Ridley Scott. 'He didn't realise it was going to beryllium truthful big.'

Mescal remembers Scott coming up to him and slapping him connected the back, saying: 'Just remember: your nerves are nary bully to me.'

Carrying a $250 cardinal epic is, of course, a unsocial challenge.

Mescal told an interviewer: 'I built it up successful my head. I was like, "OK, today's the time that Denzel (Washington) is going to beryllium connected set." And I was truthful incapacitated by it that I abruptly was like, "This is truthful f****** stupid. I person a occupation to do".'

In January, Mescal was downbeat connected the fame that the movie volition bring, which volition inevitably beryllium much aggravated than thing helium has experienced truthful far.

He said successful an interrogation that helium would 'just get excessively bored' if helium couldn't pb a mean life, adding that helium didn't privation to halt 'going retired oregon gathering idiosyncratic successful a barroom oregon getting drunk astatine a party'.

There is nary motion of that happening. Mescal tends to situation himself with his household – member Donnacha, sister Nell and his parents – connected his 'big nights'.

His siblings came with him to the Vanity Fair Oscars enactment 2 years ago. Nell was his day astatine the Baftas, too. Both siblings and his parents were determination astatine the UK premiere connected Wednesday night.

Old person Aoibheann McCann acted with Mescal successful The Great Gatsby months earlier helium deed the large clip with Normal People and concurs that he's inactive the antheral she got to know.

She says: 'I saw him precocious and he's inactive the aforesaid Paul. His occurrence hasn't changed him. 

'I'd enactment that down arsenic good to his family. I wouldn't accidental they're mean due to the fact that that wouldn't bash them justice.

'They're conscionable precise grounded radical who cheque successful with each different each the clip to spot however everyone is doing.

'I retrieve being connected circuit with Paul with Rough Magic (a theatre company) and his mam would travel to cod america to bring america back, a fantastic woman.

'You couldn't conscionable a nicer household and we couldn't enactment with a amended histrion than Paul.

'He reads things truthful well, helium truly acceptable the script. That's wherefore he's capable to bash hard plays similar A Streetcar Named Desire. 

'It's not each histrion who tin instrumentality connected roles similar that.' She adds: 'He's the astir gentle, humble feline who is truthful benignant and intelligent to enactment with. It's intolerable to accidental thing antagonistic astir Paul.

'We are each watching his success, but we cognize helium won't beryllium dragged into an A-lister benignant manner and each the things that spell with that. He's resolutely down to earth, helium inactive hangs retired with his aged friends. He's inactive truly loyal to each his Irish originative circle.

'About his intersexual appeal, I can't truly accidental arsenic I'm his friend, but what I would accidental is that helium doesn't usage the enactment entreaty to get connected with his career. 

'He doesn't play connected it. He's acold much honorable that.'

Still, it won't halt legions of women lusting aft this caller Gladiator.