Andrew Scott and Paul Mescal on toxic masculinity: ‘The most macho man will be the first to break’
Andrew Scott says men are going through a “crisis” right now, struggling to find “what it means to be a man” in today’s society.
The Irish actor – who became a household name thanks to his role as ‘hot’ priest in Fleabag – tells Sky News: “There’s a sort of crisis in masculinity I think at the moment and what it means to be a man.
Paul Mescal in All Of Us Strangers. Pic: Chris Harris/Searchlight Pictures
“We have all these things within us, there’s no one way of being, there just isn’t, and sometimes the people who are the most outwardly macho in some ways, are the people who aren’t going to be there for you emotionally.
His co-star, fellow Irishman Paul Mescal, whose breakout role in hit drama Normal People has made him one of the most in demand actors right now, adds, “and they’ll be the first to break”.
Scott nods: “When you are able to accept all those parts of you, I think that leads to better mental health and just a sense of stability.”
The 47-year-old plays screenwriter Adam in All Of Us Strangers – a fantasy romance merging the themes of grief, loss, identity and isolation.
Despite being overlooked in the Oscars nominations, the film has earned six BAFTA nods including outstanding British film and best director, and best supporting actor for Mescal.
The 27-year-old, who plays troubled neighbour Harry in the movie, says that while figures like Andrew Tate act as figureheads for toxic masculinity, this film showcases a very different kind of male energy.
“Adam and Harry, they’re going through difficult junctions and moments in their life.
“They’re also using their masculinity as a kind of haven for each other. They’re not using their masculinity as a barrier or something that is that is impenetrable, it’s the opposite, and I’m proud of that.”
Pic: Searchlight Pictures
Their connection breaks their solitude, lived out in a deserted tower block in the heart of the capital.
The film’s writer and director, Andrew Haigh tells Sky News male fragility was something he was keen to explore.
“I always think that so many men are just like lost little boys trapped in adults’ bodies. So, I wanted the film to speak to that a little bit, and I wanted it to sort of radiate vulnerability.”
A queer love story
Inspired by the 1987 novel Strangers by Japanese author Taichi Yamada who died in November, the movie’s set in London rather than Tokyo, and pulls away from the stock ghost story elements of its source material.
But the key difference is that the novel has a heterosexual love story at its centre rather than a queer one.
Haigh has said it was important for his lead character, Adam, to be played by an actor who shared his sexuality.
He explains that while it’s not a hard and fast casting rule, on this occasion he felt it was the right choice.
“There is so much nuance in Adam and the understanding of how the past has affected him, growing up in the 80s as a gay kid, what that has done to him as an adult, the trauma of growing up at that time, which was a really rough, difficult time.
“I wanted an actor who understood that on a very visceral level. And I think it’s a very hard thing to explain to people that didn’t experience that, or actually understand how it felt or how we carry the baggage of that into our adulthood.”
Pic: Parisa Taghizadeh/Searchlight Pictures
Scott, who first spoke about being gay in interviews 10 years ago when promoting the movie Pride, says it’s about so much more than whether a character is straight or gay.
‘You don’t play sexuality’
“I think the most important thing in any character is to look at what the attributes of the character are, not just the sexuality of the character.”
He says representation behind the camera is as important as that in front, with people in positions of power elsewhere on the production able to speak up if they feel a representation is false or inaccurate.
“You don’t play sexuality, otherwise all gay characters would just have the same attributes – one gay character is distinct from another gay character, depending on what their attributes are, in the same way, we’d apply that theory to straight characters.”
Admitting he sometimes gets frustrated when questions about sexuality are asked even when they have no relevance to a project, Scott explains: “What we’re talking about is storytelling because representation is incredibly important. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t believe that.
“But so is transformation because it speaks to our empathy. And I think actors like to transform because you like to empathise, like to imagine what it’s like to be in someone else’s shoes…
“We’re all more similar to each other than we might imagine.”
The chemistry is for real
Mescal, who is straight, defends his casting in the role of a gay man.
He explains: “Historically, when there’s been performances that have been deemed offensive, it’s when actors or storytellers are attempting to play a sexuality. It’s impossible. And I often times think that one of the least interesting parts of these characters is their sexuality.
“They contain so much more than just that, and that’s what I like to find in this story, not just as a queer love story, but as a love story in general.”
Pic: Chris Harris/Searchlight Pictures
Haigh says he cast Mescal as he felt he’d be “incredible and wonderful in that role”, adding, “of course you can cast someone, I think, in certain roles who don’t necessarily match the sexuality of the characters.
“It’s often about who is also writing the material and who is making the material and who is behind the material, and there are a lot of us on this project who are gay and are queer and understand what this experience is.”
When asked whether Scott and Mescal had a ‘chemistry test,’ (a read through set up with the film’s potential stars to ascertain how well they’d work together) Haigh laughs.
“Everyone asks about chemistry, but when you’re making a film, you’re not saying, ‘Do we all have chemistry? Is there chemistry here?’ You don’t just do the best you can with the material that you have.
“It was clear to me that [Scott and Mescal] liked each other a lot as actors, as people. The characters are falling in love, so the actors know how to generate chemistry…
“They clearly have amazing chemistry, and they’re really good friends now, and they care and love for each other. So, something magical happened. I’m very grateful for that.”
All Of Us Strangers is in UK cinemas today.
Sarah Jessica Parker was the subject of some unwanted headlines over the past few weeks after saying she reads two books a day.
While speculation of her reading capabilities circulates, the actress continues the challenging mountain of novels she has to get through in order to be a judge for the Booker Prize.
The actress is part of a panel of judges for the literary award which announces the “Booker Dozen” of 12 or 13 books on 29 July, its shortlist on 23 September and the overall winner on 10 November. The winner receives £50,000.
“I have one by my side now,” Sarah Jessica tells Sky News during an interview for her show And Just Like That.
“It’s been hard these last two weeks because we’ve been promoting the show and I thought I would be able to read between interviews, but you can read two words. You can read these three sentences, so I’m feeling very anxious about how many books I have yet to read for our next deliberation,” she says.
The Sex And The City actress compares the workload to preparing to take an exam.
“I’ve not ever felt this behind, including in high school. Like, I really am not entirely sure how I’m going to read the required amount of books by our next deliberation,” she says.
“I thought about this last night in bed, that even if I stay up every day and don’t sleep, I might not make it. So I’m not sure how. I have to not make dinner for anybody, not do anybody’s laundry. I have cut out all tasks. So we’ll see. It’s pretty fantastic, this burden is pretty wonderful.”
Turning to her spin-off series, she says she never paid much attention to the cultural impact Sex And The City had on portraying women in their 30s on screen without a rose-tinted lens.
“I think we’re just always wanting to tell interesting stories,” she says.
“And the rule in the writing room has been, for as long as I’ve known, the story can only be as far removed as one person from the writer, so every single story told has either happened to a writer or to a friend or family member or colleague of the writer.”
She says what makes it real is that the show deals with real moments that happen to women as they age, from children flying the nest to navigating the dating pool.
“You don’t flat line at 50 or 60. People are living pretty colourful, interesting, exciting lives and they have influence and authority. They’re trying new things. They’re leaving marriages. They’re saying goodbye to kids. They’re starting new jobs, they’re leaving jobs, and they’re getting married, they are widows, there’s just endless amounts to talk about and it should be,” she says.
Kristin Davis
‘It is insane there aren’t more shows like us’
Her co-star Kristin Davis agrees and states her main hope for returning was to break certain taboos for women now in their 50s.
“It is insane that there aren’t more shows like us, you know? I’m hoping that there will be,” she says. “It’s very interesting that somehow women, especially at a certain age, you’re just supposed to just vanish. I don’t know where we’re supposed to be and that just makes no sense.”
Cynthia Nixon
Sex And The City was ‘incredibly white’, says Cynthia Nixon
For Cynthia Nixon, playing Miranda now as a lesbian character allowed the show to explore the challenges that face people coming out later in life and navigating the world they find themselves in.
She says although Sex And The City broke taboos for white women in their 30s, she felt the original iteration of their show wasn’t as reflective of the real world as it could have been.
“The one thing that didn’t really sit well with me in the past was how incredibly white the show was,” she says. “So, I think to expand the universe of, you know, who gets to be centred in the show has been a tremendous boon. Whether you’re talking about people of colour, whether you’re talk about queer people, people of different ages. We used to have a wonderfully fascinating lens, but it was fairly narrow.
“We’ve moved in our view of queer people… for so long, if you wanted to put a gay person on screen, one of the ways to make them palatable was to really emphasise their funniness and I think we have many very funny gay characters, but we’re able to, I think, have a more well-rounded view of them.”
And Just Like That is available on Sky and NOW.
Race Across The World contestant Sam Gardiner has died at the age of 24 in a car crash, his family has said.
In a statement, his mother Jo – who appeared on the 2019 series with him – and his father Andrew said: “We are devastated by the loss of our beloved son Sam in a terrible accident.
“Sam left us far too soon, and whilst words will never fully capture the light, joy and energy he brought into our lives, we hold on to the memories that made him so special.
“Sam was adored by his family. As a son, brother and nephew, he was loyal, funny and fiercely protective.”
They added that taking part in Race Across The World “opened his eyes to the wonder of adventure and travel”.
Pic: Greater Manchester Police
The statement continued: “He was willing to go wherever the trail might lead and he touched everyone he met on the road.
“Sam brought warmth, laughter and a smattering of chaos wherever he went. He leaves behind a huge hole in our hearts.
“He found great happiness working as a landscape gardener on the west coast of Scotland. He leaves behind a huge hole in our hearts. We will miss him endlessly, but we’ll also remember him with smiles, tall tales, and a depth of love that will never fade.”
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said the car accident happened on the A34 in Gatley, near Cheadle on Monday night. He died from his injuries on Thursday, they said.
“Emergency services attended the scene after a vehicle was reported to have left the carriageway and rolled before landing on its side,” a spokesperson said.
The 24-year-old was the only person in his car and no other vehicles were involved, they added.
A spokesperson for the makers of Race Across The World said: “Everyone who worked with him and indeed everyone who watched Sam could see just how precious and transformative the trip was for both him and his mum, Jo.
“Sam embraced the seven-week trip with an energy, love and a determination that saw the pair enjoy adventures across Mexico to Argentina making audiences fall in love with them and their special bond as a result.
“We would like to extend our deepest condolences to his parents, Andrew and Jo; his brothers, William and Charlie; his step mum Justine; his family and friends.”
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