Paul Mescal credits Daisy Edgar-Jones for his Emmy nomination after Normal People co-star was snubbed

‘If it was me I would have given her all the love in that category’

Normal People’s Paul Mescal has credited co-star Daisy Edgar-Jones with his Emmy nomination.

The Irish actor was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series for his role as Connell Waldron in BBC Three’s critically acclaimed adaptation of Sally Rooney’s novel.

However, many fans were surprised to see that Edgar-Jones, 22, who stars opposite Mescal as Marianne, did not get a nod.

One Twitter user wrote: “God knows how it all works and what it all really means but how the f*** did Daisy Edgar Jones not get nominated for an Emmy for Normal People?”

Responding to his nomination on Tuesday (28 July), Mescal shared a still of his Normal People character crying, commenting: “My actual face right now!"

Thanking director Lenny Abrahamson, who he would “forever be indebted to”, Mescal turned his attention to co-star Edgar-Jones with the words: “@daisyedgarjones this only exists because of you and extraordinary talent, end of.”

The actor also gushed about Edgar-Jones in an interview with Vulture where he admitted that he was “totally” surprised she hadn’t earned her own nomination, saying: “The fact that I’m nominated is a testament to the work that she’s done.

“If it was me I would have given her all the love in that category. I can’t speak highly enough of the work she did on the show. I know there are extraordinary actresses nominated in that category, but I think Daisy’s work is just phenomenal in this.”

Normal People was a huge hit when it launched on 26 April, more than doubling BBC Three’s record for a viewing figures on iPlayer after it was requested 21.8 million times in its opening week.