Paul Mescal looked back on the somewhat intense preparation he went through to perform his role as William Shakespeare in Chloé Zhao’s “Hamnet,” which included him having to embody the male genital organ during a tantric workshop with his co-star Jessie Buckley.
The actors opened up about their experience in an interview with the Los Angeles Times, published Thursday. Mescal explained that he knew he and Buckley had a strong connection ever since their chemistry read but admittedly, things got a bit more intimate during the rehearsal process.
“The crackle in our cells and between each other was already there,” Mescal said. “It was like lava, something that was moving but had solidness around it.”
On the first day of their joint rehearsal, Zhao had them take part in an unusual tantric workshop.
“It began with me having to embody a penis and [Jessie] having to embody a vagina,” Mescal, who shared that it was just the three of them in the room, recalled. “We stood on opposite sides of the room with this chanting music.”
While it was a bit strange for Mescal, Buckley shared that she did try to lock into it.
“There was an objective overview in my mind like, ‘OK, just surrender to this situation,’” Buckley explained. “But really it was like, ‘What’s going on?’”
From Zhao’s perspective, she referred to the rehearsal as an “experiment in polarity” that was pertinent for the film.
“The greater the polarity is, the union becomes even more powerful,” she told the paper. “I wanted Paul to have absolute order and Jessie absolute chaos and to see what happens. When they merged together and when they started kissing, I was watching the whole movie playing out.”
“Hamnet” premieres in theaters on Nov. 26, 2025.
