Getting through all 12 episodes ofNormal Peopleon Stan is brutal, in the best way.

It’s gut-wrenching and beautiful and a little bit (okay, a lot) sexy. You’ll find yourself thinking about it long after the image of Marianne and Connell, sitting on the floor, knees to their chests, fades from your TV screen.

And you’ll probably also be thinking about that… chain. You know the one, worn around Connell’s neckalways, even when he is wearing nothing else.

Watch the trailer for Normal People on Stan. Post continues below video.

Normal Peopleis the first major role outside the theatre for Paul Mescal, who plays Connell, and it’s fair to stay people are standing up and noticing.

We’re in the middle of a pandemic, so usual promotion for a show likeNormal Peopleis not possible. Yet, from the comfort of his own home, Mescal has become everyone’s new TV boyfriend.

LikeTo All The Boys I’ve Loved Before‘s Noah Centineo before him, it’s a badge given to those men we can’t help but have a bit of a crush on.

Maybe it’s down to the characters they play; Connell is after all, a deeply kind and loving character.

The result is a lot of affection from the rest of us.

A week since the series’ release, the 24-year-old has racked up nearly 200,000 Instagram followers, Google searches about his relationship status have spiked, and well, there’s been a fair amount of thirsty tweets.

Who is Paul Mescal?

Mescal is from Maynooth, a small town just west of Dublin.

There are some parallels with his character: Like Connell, he played Gaelic football (sort of like a cross between rugby, soccer and AFL) before a jaw injury forced him to give it up.

He moved from his small hometown to study at Trinity, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Acting from its The Lir Academy in 2017.

Throughout Ireland, he is recognisable for an ad for a popular Irish sausage and bacon brand, Denny. It’s… interesting.

As Mescal was graduating from Trinity, he was offered roles in two high-profile theatre productions in Ireland:Angela’s AshesandThe Great Gatsby, which he took on and played the lead. He starred in a number of other theatre shows throughout 2018, and in May 2019 was announced as Connell in the Hulu and BBC adaptation of Sally Rooney’s novelNormal People.

He told Vogue he had a girlfriend during filming, but they have since broken up.

He is currently holed up in his London flat due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but he has company: his roommate is India Mullen, who played Marianne’s friend Peggy in the series.

Oh, and here’s somevery important information: He can sing.

In 2018, he posted a video of himself singing Lady Gaga’s ‘Always Remember Us This Way’, and his Insta has a singing story highlight that will definitely solidify that crush, as if you needed another reason.

Get it in your ears.

On playing Connell inNormal People.

Before he scored the role, a number of people had told Mescal he’d be a perfect fit for Connell, he told Vogue.

Image: Stan.

He read the book only days before his audition, and instantly recognised the characters within himself or his friend group, something that was "both exhilarating and slightly terrifying".

He also knew how invested readers of Rooney's novel were in Connell and Marianne.

"I am going to be the visual representation of this imagined character for a lot of people. So there definitely is a pressure with that," he told GQ.

Mescal said it was easy to play Connell when he and Marianne were happy, but "those moments are actually few and far between".

"I don't think they're ever completely content. Stuff just wouldn't be interesting. I also found I was always really excited… excited isn't the word to use, but I really anticipated getting to play Connell at his darker, more depressed states because I think it's really well observed by Sally. We definitely see when men feel this stoic responsibility not to express emotion, how damaging that can be."

The series features a lot of sex and nudity, but Mescal insists Connell is more "interesting and sexy" than him.