Irish actor Paul Mescal is reflecting on masculinity in film, saying he thinks the industry is "moving away" from the typical alpha male roles.
Mescal stars alongside Josh O'Connor in the gay romance "The History of Sound," playing musicians who travel through New England in the summer of 1919 to record the folk songs of their rural countrymen. Speaking at a press conference Wednesday for the film at Cannes, Mescal shared his thoughts on the cinema and gender roles.
"It's ever shifting," he said, according to Variety. "I think maybe in cinema we're moving away from the traditional, alpha, leading male characters. I don't think the film is defining or attempting to redefine masculinity, I think it is being very subjective to the relationship between [their characters] Lionel and David."
Mescal, 29, also pushed back against comparisons between the film and "Brokeback Mountain," describing them as "lazy and frustrating." Several reviews have highlighted similarities.
"I personally don't see the parallels at all with 'Brokeback Mountain,' other than we spent a little time in a tent," he said. "['Brokeback'] is a beautiful film but it is dealing with the idea of repression … I find those comparisons relatively lazy and frustrating, but for the most part I think the relationship I have to the film is born out of the fact that it's a celebration between these men's love and not the repression of their sexuality."
Asked about his on-screen chemistry with O'Connor, who couldn't attend the premiere or press event due to filming commitments, Mescal said he was "one of the easiest people" to connect with.
"Josh has a great gift ... the person who the general public sees is very similar to the one that we know and I think that's very difficult for an actor in today's age to do," he said. "We've known each other for about five years and we were definitely friendly so that foundation of safety and play was there, but that relationship really deepened in the three or four weeks we were filming."
O'Connor has another project premiering at the festival on Friday — "The Mastermind," directed by Kelly Reichardt, The Guardian reported. Meanwhile, Mescal will take on the role of William Shakespeare later this year in "Hamnet," ChloĂ© Zhao's film adaptation of Maggie O'Farrell's novel, starring alongside Jesse Buckley.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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