Olivia Colman jokes she improvised a scene in The Lost Daughter to flirt with Paul Mescal

Olivia Colman has joked that she created a scene in The Lost Daughter so that she would have the chance to flirt with Paul Mescal.

The Oscar-winner stars opposite Mescal in the recently released drama, which is directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal.

Mescal, 25, rose to fame in the BBC adaptation of Sally Rooney’s novel Normal People. The actor won an Emmy nomination for his role as the sensitive teenager Connell.

In an interview with The Sun, per the Huffington Post, Colman said she was “a bit giddy” meeting Mescal. The 47-year-old added she couldn’t look him in the eye when they were first introduced.

“I was a huge fan from watching Normal People and I was a bit giddy,” said the actor. “I couldn’t look him in the eyes when we first met.

“He’s just so kind and nice and a good person. And he sings beautifully. He’s just lovely. He’s the nicest and loveliest. He loves his family and he’s so brilliant in what he does. His work is beautiful.”

The Landscapers star joked that she even improvised a scene in the film so she could flirt with Mescal on-screen.

When asked if she enjoyed shooting the scene in question, she quipped: “That’s always fun, but that wasn’t even in the script. I just did that.”

Colman clarified she was joking, however, adding: “It was in the script, it was.”

The Lost Daughter also stars Peter Sarsgaard and Dakota Johnson.

The film is out in cinemas now and will be available to watch on Netflix on 31 December.