Paul Mescal says he was wearing only his ‘sweaty underwear’ when he first met Nicole Kidman

The Co Kildare actor described the “undignified” moment he met the Aussie superstar backstage in London on US TV chat show Jimmy Kimmel Live!.

He revealed how he was caught short by the Aussie superstar after she called to his changing room following a performance of A Streetcar Named Desire in London.

He said: “We thought it was the stage manager or something and I go to open the door.

“It's Nicole Kidman and I'm standing there in, like, sweaty underwear.”

However, Paul said Nicole saw the humour in the situation and didn’t bat an eyelid as she chatted with the actors .

“You'd think the next smart step is [to] put on some trousers,” he told Jimmy Kimmel.

However, the Maynooth man said he believed stopping the conversation to put on his trousers would be even more awkward.

He told the US chat show host there is something 'incredibly undignified' about being 'bent over' [in order to pull on pants].

“It's not a look you want to be caught in,” he explained.

Paul described how he even hugged the Oscar winner goodbye while still in his underwear.

After the star left the dressing room, Paul remembered turning to his co-stars to ask, ''What the hell just happened?''

Paul is currently nominated for the Best Actor gong for his role as a Scottish father holidaying with his daughter in Turkey in the film Aftersun.

He recently told Late Late Show host Ryan Tubridy that he stared at his phone in disbelief when learned the news.

“I had a meeting earlier on in the day that I hoped would run through the nominations coming through but it didn’t so I was just watching my phone, the nomination came up, the phone dropped, I started shaking,” he recalled.

“I Facetimed my family. There was lots of emotion that comes with it because it wasn’t really expected.

“I thought we were on the outside of the bubble, but I was just like – I don’t know, it was just a dream come true to be honest. To be in the category with Colin. It really is amazing.