Pedro has poignantly reflected on how long it took him to get his big break in acting — and how close he came to having to give up his dream.
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Spoiler for Season 4 ofGame of Thrones below.
It’s fair to say that Pedro Pascal is one of the biggest TV actors in the world right now, with the 48-year-old star winning a SAG Award earlier this year for his breakout performance in The Last of Us.
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In addition to this industry recognition, Pedro has amassed millions of fans across the globe and a whole heap of critical acclaim in recent years — but his acting journey hasn’t always been such a runaway success.
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In fact, Pedro was acting for more than a decade before he entered mainstream consciousness after being cast as Oberyn Martell in the fourth season of Game of Thrones in 2014.
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While Oberyn was an immediate fan favorite, he only appeared in seven episodes before he was brutally killed off.
Pedro was cast in the Netflix series Narcos soon after, but he was still far from a household name.
The tide finally started to turn for Pedro in 2019 when he landed the titular role in The Mandalorian, Disney+’s live-action Star Wars TV series, and last January, his popularity skyrocketed when The Last of Us premiered on HBO.
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Shortly before the season premiere, Pedro’s now-20-year-old costar Bella Ramsey revealed the poignant way that Pedro had acknowledged how long it had taken him to get his big break when filming for the show wrapped.
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Speaking to USA Today, Bella said that Pedro had written them a letter that reflected on their contrasting careers, sharing at the time: “Pedro wrote a little card to me at the end, saying, 'How interesting that something so huge and life-changing should happen so early in your life and so late in mine.’”
And in a recent interview, Pedro recalled just how close he came to being forced to give up his acting dream after he was left with less than $7 to his name and unable to pay his rent.
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In fact, we can thank a well-timed residual check from Buffy the Vampire Slayer for Pedro being able to stick it out until his career took off, with the star playing the character Eddie in a 1999 episode of the popular TV show.
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Speaking to Entertainment Tonight after his SAG Award win, Pedro said of his career: “My entry-level lasted about 15 years. And we’re talking about [not] being able to see a doctor, getting sick, getting surgery, paying my rent, when I had less than $7 in my account.”
"A residual from Buffy the Vampire Slayer showed up and saved the day," Pascal added. “It literally is the reason I was able to stay in [Hollywood] and not give up.”
Last year, Pedro was left delighted when he learned that the star of Buffy, Sarah Michelle Gellar, still remembered working with him all these years later.
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While Pedro was at the premiere for the third season of The Mandalorian, Sarah shared a throwback photo of herself and Pedro with her Instagram followers.
She captioned the post: “When #Mother met #Father,” and Pedro spoke about it while on the red carpet.
"What I just found out — which I am very excited about, and I can't wait to get my phone back so that I can look it up myself — is that Sarah Michelle Gellar remembers me," he toldAccess Hollywood at the time.
"I remember every moment of shooting that episode, as brief as it was, she was such a kind scene partner, and we had the best time,” he continued.
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And speaking toEntertainment Tonight, Pedro shared some of his memories of working with Sarah.
"I remember she had ice cream in her trailer, and she gave me some," he recalled. "She went back to her trailer, she got me some ice cream and she shared — because it was a night shoot, it was in the middle of the night, and we were on the UCLA campus. They hadn't built their college sets yet."
"I remember everything," Pedro added. "I could go on and on and on. I could give you step by step, every detail."
"She was incredibly kind. She taught me how to use a sandbag to hit my mark," he continued. "She was the best."
And Sarah reciprocated this adoration when she posted a segment of Pedro’s interview to her social media page and wrote: “As if I could ever forget you."
Meanwhile, Pedro’s career continues to go from strength to strength, with it recently being announced that he will star alongside Emma Stone and Austin Butler in the upcoming movie Eddington.
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The second season of The Last of Us is also in production, and it is thought that it will be released next year.
- Pedro Pascal
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer
- The Last of Us
- Stephanie SoteriouBuzzFeed Staff
