Normal People’s Paul Mescal finds people’s attraction to his character Connell Waldron "uncomfortable".
The 24-year-old actor has insisted he is "totally different" to the BBC drama character, and admitted it is "weird" that so many people are big fans of his alter-ego.
He told the ‘I’m Grand Mam’ podcast: "To be honest, it’s uncomfortable. I’m not trying to be full of faux humility but it’s a weird thing when people are very quickly attracted to a character you play.
"And I think that’s the thing I’m focusing on. I’m not Connell, I’m totally different to him.
"This is for the record – if anybody ever dates me, I am not Connell and nor do I want to be him."
Paul and his co-star Daisy Edgar-Jones – who plays his love interest Marianne Sheridan – became overnight sensations after ‘Normal People’ dropped on TV screens.
The series – which is adapted from Sally Rooney’s novel of the same name – follows the tender relationship of Marianne and Connell from the end of their school days to their undergraduate years.
And the raunchy sex scenes in the show have attracted a number of fans to Paul’s character, but he has pinpointed the differences between him and his alter-ego to stop people messaging him.
He said: "I think maybe what’s sexy about Connell is he’s kind of classic back-footed, aloof, smart. I’m definitely not back-footed or aloof.
"It was kind of fun at the start – ‘Oh, this is mad, people think that Connell’s sexy’ – and then a weird thing has kind of crept in where, when people DM, there’s this feeling that maybe there’s an anticipation that I’m him."