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22 Jan 2026

SHOCK: Kildare's Paul Mescal misses out on Oscar nomination

Maynooth's Paul mescal has missed out on a second Oscar nomination for his role in Chloé Zhao's Hamnet with Killarney co-star Jessie Buckley favourite for Best Actress

'I am blessed' - Paul Mescal's mother Dearbhla confirms that she is cancer-free

Paul Mescal alongside his mother, Dearbhla, at the Academy Awards in 2023

Maynooth's Paul mescal has missed out on a second Oscar nomination for his role in Chloé Zhao's Hamnet with Killarney co-star Jessie Buckley favourite to win Best Actress in Leading Role at the Academy Award's. 

The Kildare man was nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role in 2023 for his exceptional performance in Charlotte Wells' heartbreaking drama Aftersun and was tipped to pick up a second nomination at just 29 years old for his portrayal of William Shakespeare. 

Mescal was in the running in the Best Actor in a Supporting Role category this time around, but missed out with Benicio del Toro (One Battle After Another), Jacob Elordi (Frankenstein), (Delroy Lindo Sinners), Sean Penn (One Battle After Another) and Stellan Skarsgård (Sentimental Value) occupying the five spots.

Coleraine novelist Maggie O'Farrell was nominated alongside Chloé Zhao in Best Adapted Screen play for their work on Hamnet, a film which received eight nominations overall.

The story of the day outside of the Irish focus was Ryan Coogler's Sinners, which received a recording-breaking 16 Oscar nominations moving past All About Eve, Titanic and La La Land who jointly held the previous record of 14 nominations. The new record is an astounding achievement for an original film which also accumulated just shy of $370 million at the worldwide box office.

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