The Huffington Post
Pedro Pascal Pedro Pascal , the man of the moment, returns to our screens this week in The Mandalorian and Grogu . To many, it might seem like Pedro’s recent wave of success came somewhat out of nowhere – but it actually took years of bit parts and supporting roles before the star started booking huge, game-changing projects like Game Of Thrones , The Last Of Us and last year’s Marvel offering The Fantastic Four: First Steps . In fact, the Chilean-American star began his career way back in 1996 and spent more than a decade in minor film and TV roles until his big breakthrough. Here are just some of the lesser-known roles he played early on in his career, before he cemented his status as the internet’s favourite father figure … Buffy The Vampire Slayer (1999) @softnostalgias 24 year old Pedro Pascal in Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1999) ? Pedro Pascal says a residual check for ‘BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER’ saved him from going homeless when he only had $7 in his bank account. “It literally is the reason I was able to stay in acting and not give up.” . . . #pedropascal #buffythevampireslayer #buffysummers #1990s #90s #90sfashion #90stv #retro #vintage #popculture #fyp #fypシ ♬ original sound - softnostalgias One of Pedro’s earliest television roles came at the end of the 1990s, when he landed a small part in Buffy The Vampire Slayer . He appeared briefly as a UC Sunnydale student in the season four episode The Freshman , colliding with Sarah Michelle Gellar’s Buffy on campus before being caught by vampires and, sadly, slayed. Pedro revealed back in 2024 that this small role helped him out massively when he was still a young, struggling actor. “My entry-level lasted about 15 years,” he shared after his win at the SAG Awards . “And we’re talking about not being able to see a doctor, getting sick, getting surgery, being able to pay my rent,”. He continued: “I had less than $7 in my account and a residual from Buffy The Vampire Slayer showed up and saved the day, and literally is the reason I was able to stay in it and not give up.” Sarah also posted a throwback photo of Pedro’s time on the show in 2024, captioned: “When Mother met Father.” The Good Wife (2009) @paramountplusuk It’s Pedro Pascal’s world, we’re just living in it #thegoodwife #nursejackie #csicrimesceneinvestigation #paramountplusuk #paramountplus #pedropascal #pedro #pedropascaledit #movietok #series #peepaw #pedrito ♬ save a horse ride a cowboy - dvcree Pedro has appeared in numerous American crime dramas over the years, including Law & Order and NYPD Blue, but his first multi-episode arc came in 2009, when he appeared in the first two seasons of The Good Wife. He starred in six episodes as Nathan Landry, an arrogant assistant to the state’s attorney, which marked a rare antagonistic role for the usually-lovable actor. The Adjustment Bureau (2011) You'd be forgiven for completely missing Pedro Pascal's role in The Adjustment Bureau After starring in numerous short films, Pedro’s first high-profile feature-length role came in 2011 when he was cast in The Adjustment Bureau. He makes a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it appearance in the Matt Damon and Emily Blunt sci-fi thriller, playing a maître d’, and despite his limited screen time (his one line even ended up on the cutting room floor), the film’s Oscar-winning lead still had good memories of being on set with Pedro more than a decade later. “I remember Emily and I went and sat down and this maître’d walked away, and they cut, and we both looked at each other, and Em goes, ‘That guy’s really fucking good’,” Matt told Howard Stern in January this year. “And I said, ‘Yeah, what the fuck? That guy was really good’. “There was something just incredibly interesting, but real and natural about him. And years later, I found out it was Pedro Pascal.” Graceland (2013) @tveit_on_the_brain Pedro Pascal made his series debut in season 1, episode 2 of Graceland as the character Juan Badillo. He and Aaron Tveit shared many scenes together. Pedro went on to become the most actor of the series after playing Grogu’s caretaker, The Mandalorian. #aarontveit #pedropascal #themandalorian #gracelandtv #mikewarren Credit-USA network ♬ original sound - Lisa | Fan of Aaron Tveit The year before he joined the cast of Game Of Thrones, Pedro Pascal appeared in the first series of the law enforcement drama Graceland, playing an undercover cop who is assigned to investigate a senior agent in the FBI. Unfortunately, like many of Pedro’s characters over the years, this one also met a violent end, and didn’t make it into the second season of the show, which only ran for three years before it was cancelled . The Mentalist (2014) Pedro Pascal in The Mentalist back in 2014 Pedro followed up his role in season one of Graceland with a recurring part in seasons six and seven of The Mentalist . He joined the procedural drama as Marcus Pike, an FBI agent who had a short-lived romance with Robin Tunney’s Teresa Lisbon before being written out of the series. This appearance in The Mentalist aired just one week before Pedro made his debut in Game Of Thrones, a role which would change the course of his life and career. The Great Wall (2016) Pedro Pascal in The Great Wall Pedro is now a regular face in movie blockbusters, which all started with 2016’s The Great Wall, in which he reunited with his former Adjustment Bureau co-star, Matt Damon. The future Emmy nominee played a Spanish man who travels to 11th-century China with Matt’s character to steal gunpowder, before getting caught up in a war against mythical monsters. Upon its release, The Great Wall was met with controversy for centring its white leads at the expense of its talented cast of Chinese actors, after which it massively underperformed at the box office . Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017) Pedro Pascal in the oft-overlooked Kingsman sequel The Golden Circle You may have ( thankfully! ) completely forgotten that the Taron Egerton -led James Bond pastiche Kingsman ever had a sequel, but it did. Follow-up movie The Golden Circle brought back original cast members Colin Firth and Mark Strong, as well as introducing new additions played by Channing Tatum, Julianne Moore and, of course, Pedro Pascal. In the sequel, Pedro played Jack Daniels, a lasso-whipping cowboy FBI agent who worked for the Kingman’s American counterpart, Statesman. Despite unimpressed reviews from critics , Pedro has spoken fondly of his time making the film, especially when using his character’s weapon of choice. “I’m telling you, I had a Catwoman moment.” Pedro told ComicBook.com while promoting the film in 2017. “It’s a different Catwoman [than co-star Halle Berry‘s portrayal]. But there was a Catwoman moment on set.” He explained: “In one take, I had to crack the whip and hit a bag of dust. If I hit the bag of dust, it would help the shot, because it would have just [exploded], as if the floor was sort of like exploding with the sound of the crack.” The Equalizer 2 (2018) Denzel Washington and Pedro Pascal in the second Equalizer film In The Equalizer 2, Pedro shared the screen with one of Hollywood’s most celebrated actors, Denzel Washington . He played Dave York, ex-agency partner of Denzel’s character, who he thought was dead until he showed up out of the blue with news from their past. Pedro spoke fondly of the “surreal” experience of working with a screen legend like Denzel, telling Den Of Geek : “Here I am working with one of the greats, and I was more nervous than I’ve ever been. And, consequently, [I was] more prepared than I had ever been.” “And yet, once we started rolling, it felt like I was with a classmate,” he added. If Beale Street Could Talk (2018) Pedro Pascal in If Beale Street Could Talk Pedro appeared in one small but memorable scene in Barry Jenkins’ Oscar-nominated 2018 film, If Beale Street Could Talk. Adapted from the 1974 James Baldwin novel of the same name, If Beale Street Could Talk tells the story of a pregnant woman in Harlem who fights to clear the name of the father of her unborn child, after he is falsely accused of rape. Pedro was only on screen for three minutes, but his role was pivotal to the plot, as he portrayed a man who had information that helped free the lead, played by Stephen James, from jail. His scene saw him sharing the screen with Regina King , whose powerful performance as a mother trying to find justice for her son earned her an Oscar the year after the film’s release. Triple Frontier (2019) Pedro Pascal in Triple Frontier Triple Frontier featured an all-star cast that saw Pedro acting alongside Ben Affleck , Oscar Isaac , Charlie Hunnam and Garrett Hedlund as U.S. Army Delta Force operators. Despite positive reviews and the film’s star power, the Netflix original has been curiously forgotten, after seemingly winding up lost in the platform’s algorithm. The hidden gem of a thriller follows the team of special force operatives as they unite to plan a heist in a sparsely populated, multi-border area of South America. Pedro’s performance as the pilot Catfish was praised by reviewers , many of whom named him as the stand-out of the film’s stacked cast. The Bubble (2022) Pedro Pascal in The Bubble Released in the wake of the Covid pandemic, The Bubble was a poorly-received and generally-ignored comedy from Judd Apatow, that even an all-star cast including Karen Gillan, John Lithgow and John Cena couldn’t save. The Netflix satire followed the cast of a fictional Hollywood blockbuster who are forced to quarantine in an upmarket hotel in 2020. Pedro played Dieter Bravo, a veteran actor with sex and drug addiction, allowing him to play against type and prove his comedy chops. Despite the criticism for the movie itself, Pedro was still hailed as the best part of it by many critics . The Mandalorian and Grogu is in cinemas now. MORE FILM NEWS: Critics Pull No Punches As Sacha Baron Cohen's 'Dated' New Comedy Arrives On Netflix Brad Pitt And Quentin Tarantino Had A Heated Stand-Off On Set, Co-Star Claims Lupita Nyong'o Addresses Racist Backlash Over Her Casting In The Odyssey
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