Normal People star Paul Mescal said he was so nervous he couldn’t sleep the night before filming his first sex scene for the hit series.
The Irish actor, 24, said he isn’t concerned about stripping off but admitted he was slightly wary about going "fully nude" on television.
Directed by Lenny Abrahamson, Normal People has been a critical and popular success while Paul’s portrayal of Connell in the TV adaptation of Sally Rooney’s novel has been praised.
And in a candid admission about his sex scenes with co-star Daisy Edgar-Jones, who plays Marianne, he said he is proud of the work he has done.
Paul told website Mr Porter: “On the first Friday of the first week, we had a full day of sex scenes. It’s fair to say we were both incredibly nervous. That Thursday, I didn’t sleep.
“I’m not concerned about it because I made a choice that this project is something that I’m proud of. Well, on paper, that makes sense.
“The closer I’m getting to people seeing me fully nude on screen – it does make me slightly nervous.”
Recalling the thought and details that went into choreographing the racy scenes with intimacy director Ita, he added: “We would discuss the scene and then Ita would block what we had discussed, so it wasn’t mine or Daisy’s responsibility to decide what was appropriate… you’re told what to do. It’s freeing.”
The on-screen lovers have captivated viewers with their chemistry, with Abrahamson even dubbing it “electric”.
Paul, from Maynooth, Co Kildare, said it fell into place naturally for the pair in front of the camera.
He added: “Even if we had rehearsed for five or six months, it’s not something that we could have cultivated.
“It’s an innate thing. You can’t read a book and suddenly have chemistry between two people.”
Single Paul also told how he feels the conversation about consent in their first scene of intimacy was ‘sexy’ and how he’d love to find his real life Marianne.
He added: “I think that moment is incredibly sexy. It could have appeared really sanitised. Like, look at this character doing the right thing. But, of course, he is doing the right thing.
“I want to find something similar to Connell and Marianne, when they have such a deep connection emotionally and physically.
“That might be a dragon that I might be chasing for a long time. No better pair to learn from than Connell and Marianne.’”
And despite some people labelling the series as “pornographic”, Paul said he wouldn’t change a thing looking back on filming.
He added: “There’s going to be people who don’t like it, but you just have to remind yourself – would you change anything? I don’t think I would.”
