Director Andrew Haigh Calls Andrew Scott and Paul Mescal Really Good Friends

By Allyson Johnson | Celebrity | November 4, 2023 |

By Allyson Johnson | Celebrity | November 4, 2023 |

Sometimes, it’s just nice to read about two talented people being talented together and getting along while doing so. Andrew Scott and Paul Mescal are two phenomenal actors joining forces in the upcoming Andrew Haigh film, All of Us Strangers. The trailer, the actors leading the charge, and Haigh’s past works that include the immeasurable Weekend along with 45 Years, Lean on Pete, and the series Looking, all lead me to believe that this film is going to break me. But in a good way.

Despite the unmistakable sense of melancholy that is palpable from the trailer alone and a logline that indicates deep loneliness, the actors behind the characters — lovers in the film — seemed to have made a lovely time of the experience. Reported by the Independent following a Q&A with Haigh, the filmmaker was asked about Scott and Mescal’s chemistry to which he responded by noting a concert experience that absolved any potential fears of awkwardness.

“I could tell they were really into each other because they completely ignored me most of the day,” he said. “They were just talking and putting their arms around each other. You could tell they really liked each other,”

In case we’re worried, he also added that they’re still “…really good friends now.”

While Mescal has seen a meteoric rise in fame since his Emmy-nominated turn in the miniseries Normal People including an Oscar nomination for last year’s Aftersun (which, conversely, is this year All of Us Strangers for me in the case that I saw the trailer and knew it would leave me hollowed out). Scott, meanwhile, despite a credible career both in front of the camera and onstage, has yet to find a similar mainstream audience beyond her performance as Moriarty on BBC’s Sherlock and as the “hot priest” on Fleabag. All of Us Strangers will hopefully introduce him to a broader audience. It will be deserved.

But with the confirmation that their chemistry is just as notable off-screen as it is on, there’s a slight dampening of excitement over the film, which has been earning raves throughout its festival runs. Scott and Mescal are formidable performers on their own; together, they’re electric.