Brendan Gleeson "very proud" of Paul Mescal's Oscar nomination

To congratulate Paul Mescal on his Oscar nomination, The Banshees of Inisherin actor Brendan Gleeson reportedly asked his son Domhnall for the Maynooth native's number.

In addition to the Oscar nomination of The Baneshees of Insierhn, actor Gleeson was nominated for his role as Col Doherty.  Having already been to the Oscars, Colin Farrell and Gleeson wanted to meet the Aftersun actor at Monday's Oscar luncheon, which they were able to arrange.

"I spent a long time chatting with him,“ Gleeson told Variety in an interview this week. In fact, Gleeson already texted Mescal after the nominations have been announced in January.

“I had to ask my son Domhnall for his number," Gleeson said. I was very proud of [Mescal],” he added referring to his starring role as young father Calum in Charlotte Wells' A24 film Aftersun.

Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farrell in the film THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN. Photo by Jonathan Hession. Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2022 20th Century Studios All Rights Reserved.

For Mescal the received message from Gleeson was quite a surprise. "He‘s an idol of mine,“ Mescal said in response. "He was just incredibly generous and was like, 'We‘ re gonna make this a fun month.‘ That was one of those crazy things.“

Farrell's attempts to obtain Mescal's email address were unsuccessful over the last weeks. “I hadn’t met Paul before,” Farrell said, adding, “I got to see him today and give him a big squeeze.”

Farrell still didn‘t get to ask for his email. "I got his shoulders and I wrapped my arms around him instead. That was even better," Farrell said.

Gleeson's filmography includes a wide range of roles. He played Col Doherty in The Banshees of Inisherin, prisoner Knuckley McGinty in Paddington 2, and teacher Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1.

The actor and director is currently assisting with the filming of the upcoming Joker sequel Joker: Folie à Deux.