Mescal played Connell, a popular high school student (and future student) who begins a relationship with a classmate, Marianne, played by Daisy Edgar-Jones. The show's trembling intimacy, watched by millions of people at the height of social distancing, particularly resonated.

But sex alone didn't make it a sensation. Mescal was so striking in the series, Haigh explains, “because of his vulnerability on screen. Male actors are often reluctant to do this, but Paul is never afraid to show it, and that makes you fall in love with him even more.”

This was the quality that Haigh wanted to exploit in his own film – particularly for the scene where Mescal and Scott's characters meet. “Paul shows up at Andrew's door and has to play this strange mix of desperation, fear, lust and drunkenness – a very, very difficult mix to pull off without being off-putting. But the way Paul did it is the opposite: he turns this combination into a way to captivate you.”

Releasing “Normal People” in the middle of COVID-19 may have done wonders for Mescal’s profile, but it’s also revitalized his love life. Among her more famous fans was American singer-songwriter Phoebe Bridgers, who tweeted that the show made her “sad and horny”: Mescal responded, and for the next two years they were officially a couple.