Paul Mescal praises Saoirse Ronan for her recent viral moment The Graham Norton Show.

During Ireland The late-late show on Friday, November 15th Gladiator II star addressed the memorable Oct. 25 performance where his was featured Enemy costar turns a joke about self-defense from Mescal and other male guests into a moment of perspective about violence against women.

When asked if he and fellow guests Eddie Redmayne and Denzel Washington were at all disappointed by Ronan’s response, the actor used his response to validate her point, which, as host Patrick Kielty put it, was an “important message about women and how they care for each other.”

“No, I don’t think we were surprised because like you said, you’re on a talk show like this and you’re really just talking,” Mescal, 28, explained. “But I’m not surprised that The message got as much attention as it did, because it’s extremely important.”

The Normal people actor also particularly praised Ronan, 30. “I’m sure you’ve had Saoirse on the show,” he told Kielty. “And she is often, if not more often than not, the most intelligent person in the room.”

The Graham Norton Show This moment was no exception, according to Mescal, who said Ronan was “perfect” and “hit the nail on the head.”

“It’s also good that these types of messages are gaining popularity,” he said. “That’s a conversation we should absolutely have every day.”

The Little women actress previously revealed that the response to her comments was certainly unexpected, at least on her part.

“It’s definitely not something I expected, and I didn’t necessarily intend to make a splash,” she said. The Ryan Tubridy Show on Virgin Radio UK in October.

“But I do think there’s something very telling about the society we’re in now and how open women want to be with the men in their lives,” she added. “So many men and women I know from all over the world have contacted me about this one comment. I would again urge people, please, please, to look at this in context.”

The Oscar-nominated actress also made it clear that her fellow guests weren’t “refuting” anything she said, and that Mescal in particular “completely understands” the issue she raised, as they’ve spoken about it in person before.

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The viral moment came in the context of Redmayne’s latest role as an assassin, which saw him learn to use his phone as a weapon. While thinking about the strategy, Mescal and presenter Graham Norton started joking, saying they wouldn’t use their phone against an attacker.

“Who is actually going to think about that?” Mescal said, pretending to pull a phone out of his pocket. “If someone actually attacked me, I’m not going to ‘make the phone call.’”

After Redmayne and Norton both agreed, Ronan intervened and said, “That’s what girls have to think about all the time.”

“Am I right, ladies?” she added, receiving loud applause from the audience – and later being praised by fans online for the way she ‘silenced’ the men.