To say that it's been an exciting few months for Paul Mescal is an understatement.
However, the Maynooth-born actor has also experienced personal upheaval as his beloved mother Dearbhla - who was his date for the Oscars last month - is currently undergoing treatment for cancer.
Both of those worlds collided last night when Mescal won a prestigious Olivier Award for his role as Stanley Kowalski in Tennessee Williams' 'A Streetcar Named Desire', which ran at London's Almeida Theatre from December to February.
Mescal beat off competition from the likes of David Tennant, Rafe Spall and Tom Hollander for the 'Best Actor' award, and after taking to the stage, declared 'What is happening?!'
During his speech, he also thanked his drama school, The Lir Academy in Dublin, saying "I wouldn't be standing here without the support of (Lir Director) Loughlin Deegan and (the Academy's Head of Acting) Hilary Woods."
He concluded by saying with an emotional shake to his voice, "Finally, I want to thank my parents, who never said 'no'. To my dad, and my mum - and I hope you get better soon."
Later, he elaborated in the winner's room by saying "My mum and dad are at home. My mum’s unwell at the moment, so hopefully it’ll give her a little bit of a lift and dad as well who is looking after her.
"It kind of feels maybe narcissistic or egotistical to assume that that will help anything, but I hope that it does."
His mum, who is currently in hospital, simply shared a proud image from the awards, which declared her son winner.
Get well soon!
