Noah Jupe on Paul Mescal's Influence and West End Debut with Sadie Sink
Noah Jupe said the example set by Paul Mescal has shaped how he approaches work as his film Hamnet heads into a BAFTA weekend with 11 nominations, while he prepares to make a London stage debut opposite Sadie Sink. The remarks come amid awards attention for Hamnet and final preparations for the Harold Pinter Theatre production of Romeo and Juliet.
Noah Jupe on Paul Mescal's on-set example
Jupe described Paul Mescal as a humble and professional presence whose behaviour on set served as a model. He said watching Mescal’s diligence, passion and work habits was "enough" for him to consider the Irish actor a role model, and that Mescal would not need to offer formal parting words for the example to register. The actor also noted that Mescal is a Kildare native and is currently filming a Beatles biopic.
Hamnet's 11 nominations and awards momentum
Hamnet goes into the BAFTA Film Awards with 11 nominations, including best actress for Jessie Buckley and best supporting actor for Paul Mescal, and with a best supporting actress nod for Emily Mortimer among the film’s recognitions. The project is described as Oscar-nominated and has been collecting attention on the awards circuit; Jupe returned from a trip to Los Angeles for the Golden Globes, where his film "won big. " Hamnet director Chloe Zhao has said the film carries "some energy" from Ireland.
Romeo and Juliet at the Harold Pinter Theatre from March 16
Jupe will appear opposite Sadie Sink in Robert Icke’s staging of Romeo and Juliet at the Harold Pinter Theatre, with performances beginning on March 16. It will be both actors’ London stage debuts. Sink is identified as 23 years old; Jupe’s age is inconsistent in the available material—one description calls him 20-year-old while another lists him as 21—so his exact age is unclear in the provided context.
Casting, chemistry reads and rehearsal pace
The two leads have already worked together briefly: they completed a chemistry read lasting about an hour and later reunited for a full photoshoot whose images are now papering billboards and Tube tunnels across London. They have acknowledged having rehearsed together only twice. Jupe said Shakespeare’s plays are rich with context and subtext, that one can work on them for months and still feel unfinished, but that preparations are progressing and he is excited. He added that he and Sink have bonded over navigating fame at a young age and are looking forward to using their West End run to "get to know one another, " noting there are not many people in similar situations.
Robert Icke's production choices and timing theme
Director and playwright Robert Icke, who conceived a version of Romeo and Juliet set in a "version of now" Verona, emphasises the role of coincidence and timing in the story. Icke has said that small shifts in timing can change outcomes dramatically—for example, if Romeo had arrived at Juliet’s tomb about four minutes later he would have found her alive. He drew inspiration for the production from the 1998 film Sliding Doors. Icke’s recent adaptation of Oedipus, starring Lesley Manville and Mark Strong, completed a Broadway transfer prior to this project.
A quieter moment at Ida and the build-up to opening
The actors were photographed together in a small west London family-run Italian called Ida: the windows steamed up against an umbrella-buckling January downpour while Sink and Jupe, dressed in 1950s-inflected clothes, sipped Sangiovese, shared pomodoro pasta and laughed under candlelight and vintage Fellini posters. That convivial moment stands in contrast to the compressed schedule around them: Sink met Icke for the first time in London last summer during a four-hour meeting arranged by agents while she was filming a top-secret role in Spider-Man: Brand New Day; the meeting, she said, felt like a spark.
Jupe has also been recognised off-stage: he received a Breakout Award at the Newport Beach Film Festival UK and Ireland Honours alongside Archie Madekwe, Harry Melling and Jay Lycurgo. On screen he plays Hamlet; his younger brother Jacobi Jupe plays Hamnet, the playwright’s son whose death shapes the story. What makes these overlapping moments notable is how the push of awards season, the pressures of high-profile film promotion and a rapid shift into major theatre commitments are converging on two young actors at the same time, shaping both public attention and the pace of their professional lives.
With Hamnet prominent in awards conversation and Romeo and Juliet scheduled to open in mid-March, Jupe and Sink move from film sets and awards ceremonies into the concentrated work of live performance, carrying lessons learned from established colleagues and a creative team focused on the fragile coincidences at the heart of the play.
