Irish actor Paul Mescal's birthday is today, and some online users can't contain their thirst in their posts celebrating him. He was born in Maynooth, County Kildare on February 2, 1996. The actor has only held a few roles to date, but they have largely been in prominent dramas or buzzy series and films including the lauded 2022 family drama Aftersun.The Normal People actor turns 27 today, and many have wished him a happy birthday. However, before long Twitter was flooded with a cavalcade of posts from various thirsty folks expressing their admiration for the handsome actor, with even official accounts like Letterboxd getting in on the fun. Some went so far as to offer fairly serious-sounding birthday messages while attaching various thirst trap photos of the actor to highlight their point without even needing to say anything. Check out select thirsty birthday posts below:Related: Normal People: Why Connell & Marianne Should End Up Together

Why Paul Mescal is Blowing Up Right Now

Paul Mescal Shirtless

Mescal's strong 2022 helped him rise to prominence in the public eye, but the actor has been amassing a strong following since 2020. During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, when people across the globe were stuck at home, many got hooked on the few streaming series that were still being released, including Netflix's notorious Tiger King.

After Normal People's captive audience grew enamored with Mescal, he went on to star in more acclaimed dramas including the Oscar-nominated 2021 film The Lost Daughter. He also starred in music videos from Phoebe Bridgers and The Rolling Stones before taking the lead in Aftersun. His role in that film landed him his first Oscar nomination, which helped his rising star continue its ascent.

Now that he has established himself as a reliable dramatic actor, Paul Mescal has lined up a number of future projects. This includes the hotly anticipated Ridley Scott sequel Gladiator 2, where he will play the grown-up Lucius. He is also attached to star opposite Ben Platt and Beanie Feldstein in Richard Linklater's adaptation of the Sondheim musical Merrily We Roll Along.

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Source: Various (see above)