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Exclusive Interview
April 28, 2020 2:43PM EDT

‘Normal People’s Paul Mescal: Connell & Marianne Are As ‘Close To Soulmates As They Can Be’

Paul Mescal Daisy Edgar Jones
Hulu
Normal People -- Episode 3 - Episode 103 -- The night of the Debs is approaching and the girls at school have organised a fundraising event. Marianne (Daisy Edgar-Jones) has been asked to help and is out of her comfort zone.  At the club, one of Connell’s friends Karen (Niamh Lynch) does her best to show Marianne some kindness but Rachel (Leah McNamara) behaves coldly towards her.    The evening turns sour, when one of the boys’ older friends gropes Marianne. She leaves the club, upset by the incident and Connell (Paul Mescal) offers her a lift home. Marianne stays over at Connell’s house and bumps into Lorraine as she leaves the next day.    Connell becomes anxious when his friends tease him about Marianne, suspecting they’ve guessed about their relationship. Fuelled by anxiety, Connell makes an unexpected decision that hurts Marianne and causes a rift between him and his mother, Lorraine (Sarah Greene). Marianne withdraws from school, causing Connell intense guilt. Connell (Paul Mescal) and Marianne (Daisy Edgar-Jones), shown. (Photo by: Enda Bowe/Hulu)
Normal People -- Episode 2 - Episode 102 -- Connell (Paul Mescal) and Marianne’s (Daisy Edgar-Jones) relationship continues in secret and they sleep together for the first time. At school, Connell makes excuses for why he didn’t see his friends at the weekend and evades questions on his mother’s job at Marianne’s house. A girl in his friendship group, Rachel (Leah McNamara), gets impatient with Connell’s lack of interest and tensions build for Connell.   Meanwhile, Marianne must find a way to explain her unplanned absences to her prying brother Alan (Frank Blake). Connell (Paul Mescal) and Marianne (Daisy Edgar-Jones), shown. (Photo by: Enda Bowe)
Normal People -- Episode 6 - Episode 106 -- Connell (Paul Mescal) and Marianne are back together. Connell (Paul Mescal) has gained confidence in college; giving presentations in class and getting good grades but is reluctant to show Marianne (Daisy Edgar-Jones) affection in front of her friends. Will the two be able to admit that they are together?   Things take a negative turn when Marianne goes home and argues with her brother Alan (Frank Blake) and Connell loses the part-time restaurant job that funds his life in Dublin.  Connell is torn when Marianne returns to Dublin distant and distracted, and finds himself once again, unable to share his worries… Marianne (Daisy Edgar-Jones), shown. (Photo by: Enda Bowe/Hulu)
Normal People -- Episode 5 - Episode 105 -- Connell (Paul Mescal) and Marianne (Daisy Edgar-Jones) start socialising as friends in Dublin. She introduces Connell to her group and one of her friends, Teresa (Lauryn Canny) is interested in him. Marianne is still dating Gareth (Sebastian De Souza).  but her interest in the relationship is starting to fade. Marianne eventually finishes things with Gareth and makes a drunken pass at Connell. Connell (Paul Mescal), shown. (Photo by: Enda Bowe/Hulu) View Gallery View Gallery 12 Photos.
Avery Thompson
Entertainment Director
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The TV adaptation of ‘Normal People’ makes its big debut on April 29. HL spoke with Paul Mescal about the complexities of Connell and Marianne’s relationship and why they’re meant for each other.

Sally Rooney’s bestselling novel Normal People is coming to life in Hulu’s new television series. The show stars the incredible Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones as Connell and Marianne, whose lives become forever intertwined when a relationship ignites between them in grade school. Their relationship ebbs and flows over the years as they get older, but the extraordinary bond between them never goes away. Normal People is a passionate tour de force featuring stellar performances from both Paul and Daisy. HollywoodLife talked with Paul about his exploration of the relationship and why Connell and Marianne are ultimately right for each other.

“When I first read the book and he goes off to New York, I wept,” Paul told HollywoodLife at the Television Critics Association winter press tour. “I was like… This cannot be happening. That made me believe that they have to be together. Even though the healthiest thing is that she says go because it shows that there’s a real love and care there because that is the right thing for him to do. Then when I was shooting it, depending on what we were shooting, I was like these people do not work even though they’re in love with each other. They don’t fit. When we were shooting, it was like being in a relationship with the two character’s relationship if that makes sense. You’re kind of able to observe where they are at. But when I finished, the question I asked was: will they find a better person? I don’t think they will. I think they are as close to soulmates as they can be because they challenge each other, they enrich each other, they save each other. I think if they weren’t to end up together, in my opinion, it would be a tragedy.”

Paul, in his first television role, loved diving into a role that required “dexterity of the mind and emotional intelligence.” Connell and Marianne’s relationship isn’t simple. There are many layers to the relationship and individual emotional complexities that factor into it. “I think with Marianne and Connell’s relationship they’re both clearly madly in love with each other, but it’s not displayed in a very simple way,” Paul continued. “His brain is telling him to say I love you, but he won’t. He has difficulty in terms of expressing that because maybe it makes him feel weak or maybe he’s afraid if he says that she’ll run away. There’s a myriad of different reasons why he can’t express his feelings. That’s not to say that it’s right but it’s something that I think a lot of young men and women go through.”

Paul admitted that he became “more sympathetic” towards Connell after reading the book. As he stepped into the character “on an emotional level on a daily basis,” he realized there was a “deep sadness” within Connell. He also reflected on his favorite parts of the book. “I find the last 20 pages of the book amazing. I think Sally captures Connell’s depression in a desperately deep and accurate way,” he said. “I think the section when they rekindle their romance at Trinity made me so happy. It made me so happy to see when they meet in college for the first time. She’s tentative walking into it because he’s hurt her so badly by not inviting her to the Debs, but because Marianne is incredible just kind of lets that go and allows their chemistry to exist in that scene when they’re talking.”

The series will consist of 12 episodes and will stay true to the source material. “It’s not a series based on the book. It’s a series of the book if that makes sense,” Paul noted. “There are certain scenes that support the narrative but nothing is put in to elicit a departure from the novel.” All episodes of Normal People will be available on Hulu starting April 29.

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