‘I think we all do it’: Paul Mescal divulges his very specific ‘ick’

The 27-year-old actor was asked while promoting his new film ‘All of Us Strangers’, alongside fellow Irish co-star Andrew Scott

Paul Mescal has revealed his slightly specific “ick”, which many fans have found to be very relatable.

The 27-year old Normal People star is currently promoting his new film, All of Us Strangers, alongside fellow Irish actor Andrew Scott, 47.

The film is based on the 1987 novel Strangers, by Taichi Yamada, and follows Adam (Scott), a writer who lives outside of London in a nearly deserted apartment building. His neighbour Harry (Mescal) returns home drunk one night and flirts with him, with their steamy encounter developing into a tender romance.

In an interview this week, Mescal was quizzed on what gives him the “ick”, a term used to describe a seemingly minor or obscure trait that potential romantic partners find off-putting.

“Do you know what gives me the ick ’cause I think we all do it?”, he told Ladbible.

“If you were like, ‘Oh, I’m just gonna go down and turn off the lights,’ and they’re being all chill and then you hear them accelerate up the stairs because they’re scared - because I think we all do it.

“But I think if I was trying to impress someone, I’d smoothly walk up the stairs, rather than run.”

Paul Mescal and Andrew Scott in All of Us Strangers (parisatag.com)

Elsewhere in the interview, Mescal and Scott debated issues that had gone viral on social media in recent weeks.

Mescal claimed that being good at bowling was “embarrassing”, adding that he only has this opinion because he’s bad at it.

The duo also debated if they would rather fight 100 duck-sized horses or one horse sized-duck. Other talking points included the best form of potato and their shared hatred of karaoke.

“Karaoke should be banned in my opinion. Somebody always sings a song that’s a bit too serious,” Mescal said as Scott nodded in agreement.

“There’s a kind of anxiety with karaoke, which is like, is this ever gonna end?” Scott, who rose to fame as the “Hot Priest” in Phoebe Waller-Bridger’s hit BBC comedy drama, Fleabag, said.

Mescal previously opened up about the “blind panic” he felt before filming began on All of Us Strangers.

He described the script as “one of the most beautiful” he had ever read as he spoke to reporters on the red carpet at the film’s London gala screening.

“The work becomes a hell of a lot easier when you’re working with actors like Andrew [Scott] and directors like Andrew Haigh,” he said.