Normal People actor Paul Mescal has said he felt ‘objectified’ after the show was released and that fans have sent him ‘intense’ messages.

The star was speaking as he made number two of The ELLE List which introduces this year’s top 50 movers and shakers.

“I felt objectified after Normal People. It's to be expected, given the intimacy of my scenes, but it doesn't make it easier,” Mescal told ELLE Magazine.

“I daren't read some of the intense DMs I receive. But it's not enough to put me off the industry.”

He added the popularity of his character Connell wearing a chain came as surprise to him.

“The power of Connell's chain was completely unexpected. And a bit frightening! (@connellschain has 187,OOO Instagram followers.) It became this totemic being that lived outside the show.”

The BBC hit saw him star opposite Daisy Edgar-Jones, who reached number seven on ELLE’s list, but this nearly didn’t happen as Mescal revealed he almost chose a different career path.

"I almost joined the army at 16. But my love for Gaelic football and acting kept me in Ireland. 

“In Year 11, I played the lead in The Phantom Of The Opera and fell for being onstage. I'd never have imagined that Andrew Lloyd Webber would one day ask me to do a singalong, as he did this summer.”