Paul Mescal has been front and centre this season, with the 29-year-old actor starring in Chloé Zhao’s Hamnet and Oliver Hermanus’ The History of Sound – with both projects set for release in January 2026.
And from Mescal’s relationship with singer-songwriter Gracie Abrams, to his upcoming role as Paul McCartney in the highly-anticipated four-part Beatles biopic, the Irish actor has been having a real moment.
This is something he addressed in a recent interview with The Guardian, alongside his The History of Sound co-star Josh O’Connor, with Mescal confirming that he was in need of a career shift to take a break from the spotlight.
“I’m five or six years into this now, and I feel very lucky. But I’m also learning that I don’t think I can go on doing it as much,” Mescal explained. And when asked whether he would be rationing himself in the future, he responded: “I think so. I’m going to have to start doing that for sure.
“Rationing doesn’t necessarily mean less,” he continued. “It means learning that films like The History of Sound take more out of the well. You can’t keep going back and expect to consistently deliver something you’re proud of. What that rationing looks like, I don’t know. I miss being onstage, so I might have a time when I’m only doing theater for a couple of years. I also have different priorities in my personal life that I want to attend to.”
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Mescal is currently doing press for his 2026 projects, but according to the actor, he is hoping to keep a low profile after he is finished.
“Once I’ve finished promoting [Hamnet], I hope nobody gets to see me until 2028 when I’m doing the Beatles,” he confirmed. “People will get a break from me and I’ll get a break from them.”
“That’s the great fear,” he later continued when debating the risks of not staying current. “But what’s the alternative? I don’t want to resent the thing I love. This sounds bold, but I’d rather not be on the train if that is the choice.”
Hamnet is set for UK release on January 9, 2026. And The History of Sound is set for UK release on January 23, 2026.