On March 5, “Hamnet” – one of the main films of the year – will be released in Ukrainian cinemas. The new film by Oscar-winning director Chloe Zhao, based on the best-selling book by Maggie O'Farrell, tells a little-known story from William Shakespeare's youth. It is a sentimental film about how Shakespeare sublimated the pain of loss after the death of his son into his masterpiece “Hamlet”.
Film critic Sonya Vselyubskaya spoke in London with actor Paul Mescal, who played Shakespeare, specifically for Vogue.ua. Recall that “Hamnet” is nominated for an Oscar in eight nominations.
“When I was taking acting lessons, I never imagined I would become a movie star,” says 30-year-old Paul Mescal, embarrassed by the attention of the press at the roundtable. It's hard to believe, but in just five years of his career, the Irish actor has become one of the most sought-after in the film industry. It all started with the TV adaptation of Sally Rooney's bestseller “Normal People” – a role that brought him his first wide screen recognition and launched a series of interesting film offers.
Within a year, he starred in Maggie Gyllenhaal's “The Stranger's Daughter,” and later came the hit “After the Sun.” In this subtle, melancholic story of a father-daughter relationship, Paul fully demonstrated his dramatic talent, which earned him Oscar and BAFTA nominations and took him from the theater stage to the big screen.
It was then, at the Telluride Film Festival, where the film “After the Sun” was being presented, that an amazing meeting took place, marking the beginning of a new work – perhaps the most emotional in the careers of each of its participants.
“It was a perfect coincidence. I had just finished reading Hamnet at the festival and suddenly found out that Chloe, who had come to present her film, was also reading the book. We sat on the banks of the St. Michael's River and talked about it for a long time, and then Jessie Buckley, who was also at the festival, joined us.” In fact, Zhao had a clear picture of Paul and Jessie in these roles before she started working on the script – and it seems she was right.
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“Hamnet” tells a little-known story about the legend of world literature at the very beginning of his journey. Young Will was working as a Latin teacher and one day he met an unusual girl Agnes (a stunning role by Jessie Buckley). She is like a forest nymph, with a spiritual connection to nature, which we first see curled up in a ball at the roots of a tree. Her femininity, hypersensitivity to all living things and the mystery of her soul make Will fall madly in love. But this all-consuming love is destined to face severe tests.
Will is a genius who works feverishly at night on drafts of plays and demands the impossible from himself. In the end, he realizes that he must seek happiness in London. Agnes is forced to accept this, because she realizes that his gift must find its expression. But while William is torn between London and home, a plague epidemic spreads around, and their eleven-year-old son Hamnet falls fatally ill. Experiencing the immense grief of losing his child, William turns his pain into a play that will become one of the greatest masterpieces of literature.
For Paul's fellow countryman, writer Maggie O'Farrell, it was the existence of the boy Hamnet, who actually influenced his father's creative development and the course of world culture, but was erased from world memory, that became the catalyst for writing the novel. Paul himself confirms how little we actually know about William Shakespeare's personal life:
“Very little is known about him: official documents record the year of birth, date of marriage, number of children and date of death, as well as the fact that he moved from Stratford-upon-Avon to London to work at The Globe. Beyond that, it is only the speculation of historians.”
When asked how he sought the key to the image given the lack of information, the actor replies that “I preferred to rely on the script, which gave me the freedom to create the character.” Laughing, he adds: “Without accurate facts about Shakespeare, I didn't risk making a mistake.”
In fact, Paul already had a solid foundation for reincarnation as Shakespeare. Playing in theaters in London and Dublin since 2017, he managed to perform the role of young Demetrius in A Midsummer Night's Dream. Paul regrets that he has not yet had the opportunity to play the lead role in Romeo and Juliet. “Five years ago I would have made a wonderful Romeo! I would have liked to play Macbeth. And King Lear – but I'm still too young for that.”
“I was terribly afraid to take on this role: it requires exceptional acting skills.”
Chloe Zhao, who works in deep harmony with her almost mystical directorial intuition, made a perfect choice in inviting Paul to take on the role. His quiet charisma and stage magnetism helped to reveal the complexity of the character, which the actor himself initially doubted: “I was terribly afraid to take on this role: it requires exceptional acting skills.” At the same time, he reminded himself that turning to the personal “self” is the right way to go in uncharted territory: “As an actor, whether you want it or not, you always unconsciously rely on personal experience. I don't know what it's like to be a playwright, a father, especially a father who has lost a child, but I know what it's like to fall in love and want a family. For an actor, imagination can be more valuable than real experience: it's liberating, because you don't have to play only those who look like you.”
Watching him on screen, you can tell he has overcome both his fears and himself. There is a striking scene in the film when the pain of home reaches its climax and William is stranded in London. Exhausted from preparing for the play, he rehearses with the actors, bursting into tears, walking in circles and shouting the line over and over until it reaches the ultimate sincerity. “When I rehearsed it on set, I fully felt how fascinating the complexity of the role was.”
Will, in Zhao's reading, also appears as a surprisingly modern character, whose dilemmas resonate today. He is a truly loving husband and caring father, but, like a true genius, he has a lot of narcissism. Paul acknowledges this painful duality, which he tried to convey honestly: “Will is a combination of intelligence, impulsiveness, kindness and ambition. I wanted to show him as a family man who passionately loves his wife and is gentle with his children, and as a self-centered artist who sacrificed his life for the theater – even to the detriment of family responsibilities. To continue his career as a playwright, he moves to London, while Agnes stays in Stratford-upon-Avon with the children, but this is also a joint decision – similar to those made by many families at the time.”
Having come such a long way with the character, Paul now perceives both Shakespeare himself and Hamlet differently: “I believe that Will felt enormous guilt, although in the context of the time his absence from home was not unusual. So it was important to me to portray him as a wonderful father – not like his own, who considered William's talent a waste of time. As a father and a partner, Shakespeare did everything he could – and these aspects, as mitigating circumstances, have to be taken into account by the audience.”
I don't know what it's like to be a father, much less a father who has lost a child, but I know what it's like to fall in love and want a family.
The great strength of Hamlet lies in the cohesive ensemble cast and the masterful work of the behind-the-scenes team that cinematically recreated such a sensual world. Together, they created a powerful picture of the universal power of art, which can express what humans cannot, and transform pain into an art form that lasts forever. It is the sense of loss and deep love that permeates Hamlet, according to Paul, that makes it one of the most famous works in the world.
After such an emotional experience, Paul Mescal does not take a break and continues to gravitate towards biographical productions. He is currently actively working on a four-part biopic about The Beatles directed by Sam Mendes, where he plays Paul McCartney. The result of his reincarnation as composer Franklin Shepard in Richard Linklater's new project is also expected soon.
“However, my plan for 2027 is to act only in the theater, in two performances that I can't talk about yet. I love theater and always feel that I devote less time to it than I would like. Theater is the best school for an actor. He comes to life in the unique connection between the stage and the audience, which exists only during the performance. You can watch a film many times, but what you have done as an actor cannot be changed – unlike theater, where you live the role and rethink it evening after evening. That is why “Hamnet” became the perfect space for me: it allowed me to be both a film actor and a theater actor at the same time.”