Andrew Scott and Paul Mescal have been riding the wave of public adoration as the Internet’s unofficial boyfriends for months. By the rules of this viral phenomenon, that label signals widespread affection from fans across the online world, and a sense that both actors are welcomed into the digital homes of audiences everywhere. “What can I say? It’s incredibly flattering,” Mescal remarks about his standing in an online group that also includes colleagues like Timothée Chalamet and Pedro Pascal. “Ultimately, I take it as a sign that people appreciate my work and connect with it on an emotional level, and provoking that kind of response is a remarkable privilege.” Both men have already found themselves at the center of similar memes in the past.
In Mescal’s case, the spark came from the 2020 miniseries Normal People, which vaulted him to social media stardom and helped launch the acclaimed drama Aftersun (2022), earning him an Oscar nomination. He recently completed filming Gladiator 2 under Ridley Scott. Meanwhile, his Irish countryman—each actor hails from Ireland—took a slower path for many years before a 2019 Instagram moment from the second season of Fleabag, where his character became known worldwide as the “hot priest,” brought him into a new spotlight. “I’m relieved to have grown gradually as an actor, avoiding the intense public scrutiny that comes with rapid fame,” says Scott, now 47. Mescal, who has just turned 28, adds, “If fame means I must constantly shape my public image for the press and the audience, limiting my personal growth, life would become dull. I’ve decided to keep doing things my own way and see what happens.”
The feature film they share, Strangers, marks the latest collaboration with British director Andrew Haigh, already celebrated for sensitive explorations of human emotion in titles like Weekend (2011) and 45 Years (2015). The movie follows Adam, a solitary writer living in a sparsely populated London apartment building, who forms a romantic bond with his neighbor Harry after a chance encounter. Scott emphasizes that the film goes beyond a simple label; “It’s a queer film, but that doesn’t mean its audience is strictly homosexual. When viewers engage with the romance on screen, they aren’t necessarily focused on the characters’ sexual orientations. What resonates are universal themes like grief, parental love, loneliness, and bullying.”
Strangers unfolds like a modern ghost story. While Adam tries to reconstruct his childhood in a way, he revisits the home where he grew up and is confronted by his deceased parents, who haven’t aged since their tragic car accident decades earlier. This eerie premise grants him a chance to say things to his parents that went unsaid, including the revelation that he is gay. Haigh mirrors Scott’s own life in some respects; both are gay and share a similar age to the fictional Adam. “Being a young gay man in the 80s and 90s carried a heavy burden of shame,” Scott recounts. “We faced ignorance and were often misunderstood or demonized by the media. How will younger queer audiences respond to the film in today’s more accepting climate? It’s important to remind new generations where we came from, especially as regressive political trends resurface globally.”
The buzz around Strangers isn’t confined to cinema desks alone. The film has earned critical praise worldwide and earned Mescal a BAFTA nomination while Scott received Golden Globe recognition. Although it did not secure an Oscar nomination, Mescal notes that merely being part of the conversation surrounding awards is meaningful. “Visibility matters because, until recently, films addressing themes like ours were scarce in production,” he says. “It’s not a blockbuster. It’s not Barbie. But it’s a step in the right direction.”