- Fans flocked to Dublin this week – to take part in a Paul Mescal lookalike competition
- The event was sponsored by European store Lidl – as they tried to find their Middle Aisle Mescal
- Hopefuls were in with a chance of winning a cash prize of 20 euros
He’s the Hollywood heartthrob with a string of famous exes.
And this week, hundreds of Ireland’s young men were all hoping to be crowned the best Paul Mescal lookalike.
The actor, 28, shot to fame in 2020 as he starred as Connell Waldron in the Hulu drama, Normal People.
Fresh off the back of a similar event in New York earlier this month – in which a Timothée Chalamet lookalike won a grand prize of $50 – hundreds of Mescal lookalikes gathered in Dublin for the competition on November 7.
The event was even sponsored by European store chain Lidl, who handed out the prize money of 20 euros on a giant cheque which read ‘Middle Aisle Mescal’.
They also gave out stickers which either read ‘I look a Lidl bit like Paul’.
The competition was reportedly won by a man called Jack, who hailed from Kildare.
While it was all a bit of fun, some fans were unimpressed.
“Any of these men look like at Mescal to see what he looks like this first lol,” scorned one.
However, most were just thrilled with the attempts to emulate Mescal’s love of short-shorts.
“Everybody in five inch inseams I’m crying,” laughed one, while another added, “They’re GAA shorts, you can’t walk 10 ft in Ireland without coming across a fella wearing them!”
‘“Content” is a filthy word’
Elsewhere this week, Mescal has spoken about how he hates people describing his movies as “content”.
In an interview, the Gladiator II star explained, “Over the last few years people have been talking about films as content. That’s a filthy word. It’s not ‘content’, it’s f***ing work.
“I’m not being snobby, but there are two concurrent industries. One that works with a lack of care, artistic integrity. Go nuts, make stuff with Instagram followers as a factor, whatever.
“But the other is what has always been there – the craft of film – making, directing, lighting and production design. That keeps artists alive.”
