“I hope nobody gets to see me until 2028 when I’m doing the ‘Beatles,’” Mescal said in a recent interview.

Why Paul Mescal doesn’t want you to see him for the next 2 years

"I hope nobody gets to see me until 2028 when I'm doing the 'Beatles,'" Mescal said in a recent interview.

By Mekishana Pierre

Mekishana Pierre

Mekishana Pierre is a news writer at **. She has been working at EW since 2025. Her work has previously appeared on *Entertainment Tonight* and Popsugar.

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January 2, 2026 2:56 p.m. ET

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Paul Mescal at the The Royal Festival Hall on Oct. 11, 2025. Credit:

Karwai Tang/WireImage

Paul Mescal is forever grateful for his prosperous movie career so far, but he's ready for a break from the big screen and all the promotional work that comes with it.

In a new interview with *The Guardian*, the *Gladiator II* star revealed that he plans to "take some time off" after a run of starring in major films every year since his breakout role as Connell on Hulu's TV adaptation of Sally Rooney's *Normal People* in 2020.

"Once I've finished promoting [*Hamnet*], I hope nobody gets to see me until 2028 when I'm doing the *Beatles*. People will get a break from me and I'll get a break from them," Mescal told the outlet during his interview alongside *History of Sound* costar Josh O'Connor, noting that he'll ration upcoming projects.

But Mescal clarified that to him, "rationing doesn't necessarily mean less."

Paul Mescal as William Shakespeare in 'Hamnet'.

Agata Grzybowska / FOCUS FEATURES

"It means learning that films like *The History of Sound* take more out of the well," he explained. "You can't keep going back and expect to consistently deliver something you're proud of. What that rationing looks like, I don't know. I miss being on stage, so I might have a time when I'm only doing theatre for a couple of years. I also have different priorities in my personal life that I want to attend to."

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Mescal has been undeniably in-demand: In 2022, he starred in *God's Creatures*, *Carmen*, and *Aftersun*, the latter of which earned him his first Oscar nomination. In 2023, he broke hearts alongside Andrew Scott in *All of Us Strangers*, and appeared with Saoirse Ronan in *Foe*, before he starred in 2024's highly-anticipated *Gladiator II*.

In 2025, he played English playwright William Shakespeare in *Hamnet*, from Academy Award-winning *Nomadland* director Chloé Zhao and based on Maggie O'Farrell's 2020 novel of the same name; starred onstage in the latest revival of Tennessee Williams’ *A Streetcar Named Desire* at the Brooklyn Academy of Music's Harvey Theater; and featured opposite O'Connor in *The History of Sound, *a queer romance set in 1917 America from director Oliver Hermanus.

Josh O'Connor and Paul Mescal in 'The History of Sound'.

Courtesy of MUBI

"I'm five or six years into this now, and I feel very lucky, but I'm also learning that I don't think I can go on doing it as much," Mescal shared.

While the actor conceded that the concept of rationing roles goes against the "imperative to stay visible and current," he reasoned that it's wiser than the alternative. "I don't want to resent the thing I love. This sounds bold, but I'd rather not be on the train if that is the choice," he asserted.

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O'Connor agreed, adding, "The nightmare is resenting the work. Also, the more we see of an actor, the harder it is for that actor to pull the wool over your eyes and convince you they're someone else."

For Mescal, who is gearing up for months of awards season campaigning for *Hamnet*, the great hope is to slip away from the spotlight until his next major role, which will be starring as Paul McCartney in Sam Mendes' four-part biopic about the Beatles.

Paul Mescal, Joseph Quinn, Barry Keoghan, and Harris Dickinson at CinemaCon 2025.

Stewart Cook/Sony Pictures via Getty

The actor will star alongside Barry Keoghan, Harris Dickinson, and Joseph Quinn who will play Ringo Starr, John Lennon, and George Harrison, respectively, with all four films releasing in April 2028.

Harry Lloyd, the British actor best known for playing Viserys Targaryen in the first season of *Game of Thrones*, has been officially tapped to play the band's longtime producer George Martin, according to Martin's son Giles.

And if the actor really wants, he can keep a low profile until Richard Linklater's movie adaptation of George Furth-Stephen Sondheim musical *Merrily We Roll Along *opens in about two decades.

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