Paul Mescal has heaped praise on his friend and former co-star Saoirse Ronan after her recent viral moment.

The two Foe actors were recently guests on the same episode of The Graham Norton Show, where Paul was promoting Gladiator II and Saoirse discussed her performance in the film Blitz.

During the interview, which also featured Denzel Washington and Eddie Redmayne, the Fantastic Beasts star reflected on the physical training he underwent for his new series The Day Of The Jackal, recalling how he’d been told by his trainer that in the event of an attack, you can use “the butt of your phone” to fend off an assailant.

Paul poked fun at this idea, to which Saoirse silenced the rest of the sofa by calmly pointing out: “That’s what girls have to think about all the time. Am I right, ladies?”

Saoirse’s comment wound up going hugely viral, and at the time of writing, has now been viewed more than 60 million times on X.

Asked about the moment on Ireland’s The Late Late Show, the Normal People actor admitted: “I don’t believe we were surprised because you’re on a talk show and you’re kind of just talking. But I’m not surprised that the message received as much attention [as] it got because it’s a massively important [one].”

Praising his friend, Paul told host Patrick Kielty: “I’m sure you’ve had Saoirse on the show, she’s quite often, if not more often than not, the most intelligent person in the room. And I think she was just spot on and hit the nail on the head.

“And it’s also good that messages like that are gaining traction, because that’s a conversation we should absolutely be having on a daily basis.”

Saoirse previously admitted to finding the reaction to her viral moment “wild” while also discouraging people from coming for the men she shared the show with.

“Please, please, please… watch this in context”, she said, pointing out that the “boys weren’t sort of, like, debunking anything that I was saying”.