Normal People's Paul Mescal Had The Best Reaction to Emmy Nomination

Olivia Blair
·6-min read

From ELLE

With the glitz and glamour of awards season feeling like a thing of the past - exaggerated by the Coronavirus lockdown, which makes it seem like a live event hasn't taken place in a decade - the Emmy nominations for 2020 have been announced.

Saturday Night Live's Leslie Jones hosted the nominations reveal on Tuesday, with the help of Laverne Cox, Josh Gaad and Tatiana Maslany. Jimmy Kimmel will host the actual ceremony on September 20, but what form the show will take - due to the pandemic - is currently unknown.

Among the many nominees for TV's biggest night were some real treats - especially for British and Irish actors - as well as some disappointing snubs.

One of the best reactions to a nomination came from Paul Mescal, whose breakout role as the enigmatic chain-wearing Connell Waldron in Normal People, has landed him a best actor in a limited series nod.

The 24-year-old shared his reaction on Instagram, sharing a screengrab from the 12-part BBC Three series of Connell crying with the simple-yet-effective subtitles: *Sobs*.

View this post on Instagram

I could not be more proud of these two utterly incredible people, working with you both has been one of the greatest joys of my life. Also huge congrats to @louisekielycasting, you’re incredible, and also Sally and Alice and @element_pictures, we smashed it 💥

A post shared by Daisy Edgar-Jones (@daisyedgarjones) on Jul 28, 2020 at 4:32pm PDT

The Irish actor said the picture was representative of his 'actual face right now', before paying tribute to his co-star Daisy Edgar-Jones, who surprisingly did not receive a nomination for her portrayal of Marianne opposite Mescal.

'This only exists because of you and your extraordinary talent,' Mescal captioned the picture.

Photo credit: BBC
Photo credit: BBC

Edgar-Jones also shared a picture of Mescal with the show's director Lenny Abrahmson, who also was nominated, saying she 'could not be more proud of these two utterly incredible people'.

View this post on Instagram

I could not be more proud of these two utterly incredible people, working with you both has been one of the greatest joys of my life. Also huge congrats to @louisekielycasting, you’re incredible, and also Sally and Alice and @element_pictures, we smashed it 💥

A post shared by Daisy Edgar-Jones (@daisyedgarjones) on Jul 28, 2020 at 4:32pm PDT

'Working with you both has been one of the greatest joys of my life,' she wrote in a post which has received an overwhelming number of comments from fans of the show outraged that she was left off the nomination list.

Other nomination highlights include Zendaya receiving her first Emmy nod for Euphoria - which Cox practically squealed as she announced live on TV as too did Unorthodox's Shira Haas. Jennifer Aniston receiving her first nomination since Friends for The Morning Show, Olivia Colman for The Crown, Billy Porter for Pose, and Watchmen and Succession receiving multiple nods.

Photo credit: Getty Images
Photo credit: Getty Images

Black actors, such as Kerry Washington, Tracee Ellis-Ross and Regina King, also earned a record number of nominations, though the list is still largely dominated by white actors.

See the Emmy 2020 nominations below:

Outstanding Lead Actor In A Comedy Series

Don Cheadle - Black Monday

Anthony Anderson - black-ish

Ted Danson - The Good Place

Michael Douglas - The Kominsky Method •

Ramy Youssef -Ramy

Eugene Levy - Schitt's Creek

Outstanding Lead Actor In A Drama Series

Steve Carell - The Morning Show

Jason Bateman - Ozark

Billy Porter -

Brian Cox - Succession

Jeremy Strong - Succession

Sterling K. Brown - This Is Us

Outstanding Lead Actor In A Limited Series Or Movie

Hugh Jackman - Bad Education

Jeremy Pope - Hollywood

Mark Ruffalo - I Know This Much Is True

Paul Mescal - Normal People

Jeremy Irons - Watchmen

Outstanding Lead Actress In A Comedy Series

Tracee Ellis Ross - black-ish

Christina Applegate - Dead To Me

Linda Cardellini - Dead To Me

Issa Rae - Insecure

Rachel Brosnahan - The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

Catherine O'Hara - Schitt's Creek

Outstanding Lead Actress In A Drama Series

Olivia Colman - The Crown

Zendaya - Euphoria

Jodie Comer - Killing Eve

Sandra Oh - Killing Eve

Jennifer Aniston - The Morning Show

Laura Linney - Ozark

Outstanding Lead Actress In A Limited Series Or Movie

Kerry Washington - Little Fires Everywhere

Cate Blanchett - Mrs. America

Octavia Spencer - Self Made: Inspired By The Life Of Madam C.J. Walker

Shira Haas - Unorthodox

Regina King - Watchmen

Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series

Andre Braugher - Brooklyn Nine-Nine

William Jackson Harper - The Good Place

Alan Arkin - The Kominsky Method

Sterling K. Brown - The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

Tony Shalhoub - The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

Mahershala Ali - Ramy

Kenan Thompson - Saturday Night Live

Daniel Levy - Schitt's Creek

Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Drama Series

Giancarlo Esposito - Better Call Saul

Bradley Whitford - The Handmaid's Tale

Billy Crudup - The Morning Show

Mark Duplass - The Morning Show

Nicholas Braun - Succession

Kieran Culkin - Succession

Matthew Macfadyen - Succession

Jeffrey Wright - Westworld a

Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Limited Series Or Movie

Dylan McDermott - Hollywood

Jim Parsons - Hollywood

Tituss Burgess - Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. The Reverend

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II - Watchmen

Jovan Adepo - Watchmen

Louis Gossett Jr. - Watchmen

Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series

Betty Gilpin - GLOW

D'Arcy Carden - The Good Place

Yvonne Orji - Insecure

Alex Borstein - The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

Marin Hinkle - The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

Kate McKinnon - Saturday Night Live

Cecily Strong - Saturday Night Live

Annie Murphy - Schitt's Creek

Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Drama Series

Laura Dern - Big Little Lies

Meryl Streep - Big Little Lies

Helena Bonham Carter - The Crown

Samira Wiley - The Handmaid's Tale

Fiona Shaw -Fiona Shaw

Julia Garner - Ozark

Sarah Snook - Succession

Thandie Newton - Westworld

Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Limited Series Or Movie

Holland Taylor - Hollywood

Uzo Aduba - Mrs. America

Margo Martindale - Mrs. America

Tracey Ullman - Mrs. America

Toni Collette - Unbelievable

Jean Smart - Watchmen

Outstanding Guest Actor In A Comedy Series

Luke Kirby - The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

Fred Willard - Modern Family

Dev Patel - Modern Love

Adam Driver - Saturday Night Live

Eddie Murphy - Saturday Night Live

Brad Pitt - Saturday Night Live

Outstanding Guest Actor In A Drama Series

Andrew Scott - Black Mirror

Giancarlo Esposito - The Mandalorian

Martin Short - The Morning Show

Jason Bateman - The Outsider

James Cromwell - Succession

Ron Cephas Jones - This Is Us

Outstanding Guest Actress In A Comedy Series

Angela Bassett - A Black Lady Sketch Show

Maya Rudolph - The Good Place

Wanda Sykes - The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

Bette Midler - The Politician

Maya Rudolph - Saturday Night Live

Phoebe Waller-Bridge - Saturday Night Live

Outstanding Guest Actress In A Drama Series

Alexis Bledel - The Handmaid's Tale

Cicely Tyson - How To Get Away With Murder

Laverne Cox - Orange Is The New Black

Harriet Walter - Succession

Cherry Jones - Succession

Phylicia Rashad- This Is Us

Outstanding Comedy Series

Curb Your Enthusiasm

Dead To Me

The Good Place

Insecure

The Kominsky Method

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

Schitt's Creek

What We Do In The Shadows

Outstanding Drama Series

Better Call Saul

The Crown

The Handmaid's Tale

Killing Eve

The Mandalorian

Ozark

Stranger Things

Succession

Outstanding Limited Series

Little Fires Everywhere

Mrs. America

Unbelievable

Unorthodox

Watchmen

Outstanding Television Movie

American Son

Bad Education Dolly Parton's Heartstrings: These Old Bones

El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. The Reverend

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