'She’s incredibly diligent': Paul Mescal commends Natalie Portman for her exceptional performance in 'May December'

The actor expressed his admiration for Natalie Portman's performance in 'May December' and expressed curiosity about the project's development
PUBLISHED DEC 12, 2023
Paul Mescal and Natalie Portman featured in latest episode of Variety's the 'Actors on Actors' show (Getty Images)
Paul Mescal and Natalie Portman featured in latest episode of Variety's the 'Actors on Actors' show (Getty Images)

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Hollywood's emerging star, Paul Mescal, recently engaged in a discussion with the Oscar-winning actress Natalie Portman, highlighting their blossoming connection in the entertainment world.

The ‘Norman People’ actor expressed his admiration for Natalie Portman's performance in 'May December' and expressed curiosity about the project's development.

He complimented her by saying, "I just want to say how utterly brilliant you are," and inquired about the factors that led her to initially accept the project

Natalie answered, “One of the things I loved about Samy Burch’s script for ‘May December’ was all the questions it raised about how [actors] are seeking to understand the human heart."

“But there’s also the paradox that you’re cannibalizing emotions and stealing people’s true stories, true feelings, and exploiting them,” she added.



 

Portman played Elizabeth's character

Mescal proceeded to offer his perspective on Elizabeth's character, stating, “The film navigates that in such an elegant and funny way. Your character, Elizabeth, becomes malignant and slightly terrifying, but from an actor’s perspective, she’s incredibly diligent.”

Portman responded, “We don’t judge the characters. We’re here to understand human behavior: Is it possible to really be amoral with your art? Is depicting something somehow endorsing it? Have you ever felt like you had judgment for one of your characters?”

"Your character’s like a dream man. He’s so emotionally available and caring and loving to the point that it was a fantasy. But you manage to make it real. How did you make him human?" the 'Black Swan' actor continued.

The actor added, “To play love is such a great privilege, I think. And to do it with Andrew Scott, who’s the king of playing love. It’s just innate in his being both as an actor and as a human. Going into scenes with him is one of the greatest honors of my career to date.”



 

Julianne Moore and Portman's on-screen chemistry

Portman expressed her excitement about working alongside Julianne Moore, stating, "Probably from extreme fandom on my part. I’ve admired her for so long — and especially her collaborations with Todd Haynes. 'Safe' is one of the performances I have in my head all the time. To work with both Todd Haynes and Julie together, I almost blacked out."

On her hot scene with her fellow actress, she questioned, "I really loved the intimate scenes in 'All of Us Strangers.' They were very hot but also very tender. Why do we see that so rarely, and particularly for same-sex relationships?" reports Variety.

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