Paul Mescal is an Academy Award nominee. He is an Emmy Award nominee. A BAFTA award winner.
Even to those with their heads more in celebrity gossip, he is infamously an ex-fiancé of American indie singer Phoebe Bridgers.
He is undoubtedly one of Irish cinema's biggest stars, even at the age of just 27, and is now firmly an up-and-comer of the Hollywood scene.
That being said, it's hard to detach "Paul Mescal - movie star" from "Paul Mescal - Denny's sausages ad star" in the minds of many Irish people.
The Kildare man got his first big acting break in an ad for Denny's in 2018. The ad sees a young man inspired to travel the world after a breakfast of Denny's sausages with his mam and dad - before lowering his expectations from "Bali" to "Ballyhaunis".
The advert has gone down in Irish pop culture folklore, especially after Mescal's star turn in the 2020 TV series Normal People.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4 this week, Mescal recounted his memories of the famous advert - and recalled an unfortunate mistake he made on the set.
Paul Mescal shares memories of immortal Denny's ad
Paul Mescal's media duties will no doubt be ramped up in the coming weeks after his surprise Oscar nomination for his lead role in Aftersun.
He has clearly not forgotten his roots, however, as he was more than happy to share his memories this week of his first big acting gig on the 2018 Denny's "Ballyhaunis" ad.
Mescal recalled one crucial mistake he made while shooting the advert, which required his character to eat sausages as part of his family breakfast:
I didn’t know that you’re not supposed to eat them all. They come around with a bucket that you’re supposed to spit them into, and that just felt rude to me.
But I’ve learned my lesson that it’s better to do that than have to eat 15 sausages in a morning, that was an experience.
We are, of course, fans of a good fry up here at Balls.ie, but even our heads turn at the idea of scoffing 15 sausages into yourself in one sitting.
Despite the unfortunate over-eating, Mescal was grateful for the opportunity the Denny's ad presented him to move into the Irish acting industry:
If I ever feel like I get too big for my boots, it kind of pops up somewhere that we shouldn't forget that I was promoting sausages when I got out of drama school.
I trained in drama school for three years and took it so seriously. It was like, I loved the craft of it, and then I was poor. My agent was like, 'I don't know how you'll deal with this, but we've got a sausage advert that you can go on.' I was like, absolutely. I need to pay my rent.
Mescal is up for the Academy Award for Actor in a Leading Role, where he will go up against fellow Irishman Colin Farrell for his role in The Banshees of Inisherin. The other candidates include Austin Butler (Elvis), Brendan Fraser (The Whale), and Bill Nighy (Living).
The Oscars take place on March 12.
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