Sharon Horgan: My daughter wants Paul Mescal to beat Colin Farrell at the Oscars

By Mike Bedigan, PA Los Angeles Correspondent

Sharon Horgan has said her daughter wants Paul Mescal to beat Colin Farrell for the best actor Oscar at the 95th annual awards next week.

The Irish actress and director said she could not pick between the two men, who she knows well, but that her daughter “loves Paul very much”.

Mescal and Farrell will face off for the coveted award on March 12 after receiving wide acclaim for their performances.

Farrell, 46, is nominated for his role in Martin McDonagh’s dark Irish comedy The Banshees Of Inisherin, in which he stars alongside Brendan Gleeson, Barry Keoghan and Kerry Condon.

Mescal, 27, is nominated for his role in the independent coming-of-age film Aftersun, in which he plays a father struggling to connect with his young daughter during a holiday in Turkey.

He is also up for the gender-neutral best lead performance at the 2023 Film Independent Spirit Awards (FISA).

Speaking to the PA news agency at the FISA ceremony in Santa Monica, California, Horgan praised the work of the entire Banshees cast as well as Mescal.

“I’m a long-term fan of Kerry Condon, obviously Brendan and Colin and Paul – it’s bonkers,” she said.

“But it’s also unsurprising because I do think the Irish have always produced incredible acting talent historically. It’s a small island and it just needed a bit of focus on it.”

Asked who she thought would win the best actor Oscar next week, she laughed, and said: “Colin or Paul? I can’t answer that.

“Colin has been around longer, Paul is going to have so many opportunities, but I don’t know.”

She added: “My daughter would want Paul because she loves him very much.”

The 95th annual Oscars, hosted by US comedian Jimmy Kimmel, will take place at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on March 12th.