Paul Mescal has shared his “fury” after being groped in the street by a fan.

The Normal People actor is currently starring in a London production of A Streetcar Named Desire, and told the Evening Standard that he had been stopped outside the theatre by a woman asking to take his photo.

“As we posed for it, she put her hand on my ass,” he recalled.

Initially presuming that “it was an accident”, he tried to move away, continuing: “But the hand followed. I remember tensing up and feeling just, like, fury.

“I turned to her and said, “What’re you doing? Take your hand off my ass’.

“The last thing I want to do is call somebody out in front of the theatre — it’s uncomfortable for everyone involved — but it was really not okay. It was so gross, creepy.”

During an interview last year, Paul recalled a similar “fucking rude” incident when a stranger in a bar shared to him she had a screengrab of one of his nude scenes from Normal People as her phone wallpaper.

“I didn’t think the show was any good but I saw your willy and I have a photo!” Paul claimed the stranger said to him.

He said: “I remember that was the first time that I was really angry. I was like, ‘That’s fucking rude!’ It’s embarrassing for you, it’s embarrassing for me, it’s embarrassing for my friends.”

Reflecting on attention from the public in his Standard interview, Paul said: “When Normal People came out, the attention was a bit affronting. It was like, ‘This is fucking crazy’. Now I’m a bit more comfortable with it.

“I realised, like, this can consume me and I can be pissed off with every person who has a naked picture of me stashed somewhere or I can just let it go. It’s the internet.

“The internet is this evil fucking entity and it has so much power but it’s an exhausting hill to try and die on because you’re not going to win.”

He also pointed out that he doesn’t have it as bad as his female peers, adding: “Women have been objectified by men throughout history — and still are.”

Paul is currently in the running for Best Actor at the upcoming Oscars, for his performance in the acclaimed drama Aftersun.

He’s in the running against fellow Irish actor Colin Farrell – who he told the Standard he is rooting for – as well as Austin Butler, Bill Nighy and Brendan Fraser.