Originally born in Chile, Hollywood star Pedro Pascal (47) is clearly on a roll at the moment. Indispensable from major cinema productions and popular series projects, Pascal will slip into his Mandalorian helmet again in the coming weeks in the sci-fi series “The Mandalorian” and take care of his cute one in the far, far away “Star Wars” galaxy green foster son Baby Yoda.
Since the beginning of the year, the mime can also be admired in the HBO video game adaptation “The Last of Us”, in which he also plays one of the leading roles. The post-apocalyptic end-of-times series has been extremely well received by audiences and critics alike – and consequently HBO renewed it for a second season in January.
Playing one of the main roles in two of the currently most popular series on the planet at the same time is not really possible for every actor. All the more reason to take a look at Pascal’s career path to date.
Pascal got his start in the acting industry and, by the way, is also a prolific theater actor, like so many before him in popular, long-lived TV series. In 2001 he appeared in an episode of the nineties cult show “Buffy – The Vampire Slayer” (1997-2003), and after a few difficult years in which he remained completely without engagements, he was in from 2009 to 2011 to see a total of six episodes of the drama series “Good Wife” (2009-2016). In addition, the 47-year-old appeared in one episode each of the popular shows “Law
Pascal’s big break came in 2014 when he starred in the blockbuster fantasy series Game of Thrones (2011-2019). By chance, the mime learned that the HBO major production was looking for an actor in his late 30s who could embody a bisexual bon vivant. In a roundabout way and with a little vitamin B, Pascal brought his application tape to “Game of Thrones” maker David Benioff (52) – and the rest is history.
In just seven episodes from the fourth “GoT” season, Pascal embodied the character Oberyn Martell, who is likely to have been remembered by viewers and fans of the series not least because of her bloody, extremely brutal death. Pascal himself once described his involvement in ‘Game of Thrones’ as ‘a dream’, adding: ‘I had comfortable costumes, which is a miracle […] I may have been the happiest person to be on ‘Game of Thrones Thrones’. Others shot in the snow or at night, but for me there was sun […] and then a big fight scene”.
Immediately following his “Game of Thrones” engagement, Pascal was able to get one of the main roles in the cartel series “Narcos” (2015-2017). Here he embodied the DEA agent Javier Peña for all three seasons of the Netflix show – which in turn led to new roles. According to his own statement, “Kingsman” director Matthew Vaughn (51) thought while watching the series “Narcos”: “Who is this Burt Reynolds guy?”.
Vaughn invited Pascal to audition for his action comedy Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017), the second installment in the Kingsman film series. “He had this confidence but at the same time he seemed vulnerable,” Vaughn recalled in 2017 of Pascal’s casting. In his early 40s, the actor finally had his big break in Hollywood.
Further engagements in films such as “The Equalizer 2” (2018) with Denzel Washington (68) or the Netflix action “Triple Frontier” (2019) alongside his good friend Oscar Isaac (43) followed. Pascal was also seen in DC’s superhero blockbuster “Wonder Woman 1984” (2020), which was postponed due to the pandemic – but probably the greatest role of the mime was still ahead of him at that time.
In November 2018, it was announced that Pascal would be starring in the first live-action series from the Star Wars universe. “The Mandalorian” not only made the world acquainted with the extremely sweet Baby Yoda, whose initially involuntary foster father Pascal embodies in the show, the series is also significant for the continuation of the “Star Wars” franchise, which is stumbling in the cinema, and contributed not insignificantly contributed to the initial success of the Disney streaming service, which has now become the world’s largest competitor to Netflix.
Incidentally, in the show by series creator Jon Favreau (56), actor Pascal is not always under the iconic Mandalorian armor. The stuntmen Lateef Crowder and Brendan Wayne (51) – a grandson of western legend John Wayne (1907-1979) – support the mime in physically challenging scenes, or when he is prevented from doing other engagements.
After Pascal appeared in three episodes of The Mandalorian spin-off series The Book of Boba Fett (2021-2022), he starred alongside acting legend Nicolas Cage (59) in 2022. starring in the meta-comedy Massive Talent, appeared in the pandemic comedy The Bubble, and landed the lead role of survivor Joel in the post-apocalyptic HBO series The Last of Us in February 2021.
The premiere season of the new HBO hit will end in March 2023, and a sequel in the form of a second season has already been decided. Until the end of April, Pascal will be seen as the Mandalorian title character Din Djarin in the third season of “The Mandalorian”, which will be aired partially at the same time.
In addition, the popular actor also captivates and fascinates his ever-growing online fan base. Across the web, Pascal is hailed as something of a “super dad” as he takes care of a child and a young adult respectively in his two blockbuster series “The Mandalorian” and “The Last of Us”. doing better in his assumed role as a father than many physical producers.
