Pedro Pascal | Biography, Movies And More.

Pedro Pascal is an American actor of Chilean descent who was born in Santiago, Chile, on April 2, 1975. He rose to fame in a number of extremely successful TV series, such as Narcos (2015–17), The Mandalorian (2019–), and The Last of Us (2023– ). He is particularly well-known for his portrayals of villainous parent figures.

Early life and education

Pedro Pascal, originally known as Pedro Balmaceda, is the oldest child of Verónica Pascal Ureta, a child psychologist, and José Pedro Balmaceda Riera, a fertility doctor. His family, opposing Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship, had to flee Chile when Pedro was just an infant, eventually finding refuge in the United States. Initially settling in Texas, where Pedro engaged in competitive swimming, the family later moved to Southern California. It was there that Pedro’s interest shifted towards acting, leading him to attend the Orange County School of the Arts in Santa Ana.

In 1993, Pedro enrolled at New York University (NYU). By 1995, most of his family, including his parents and two siblings, returned to Chile amidst allegations against his father of misconduct at a fertility clinic; his father would later plead guilty to tax fraud in 2022. After graduating from NYU in 1997, Pedro experienced the loss of his mother in 1999, which led him to adopt her surname, Pascal. He juggled various jobs, including working as a waiter, while pursuing his acting career.

Struggles and success

In 1999, Pascal made his first television appearance, featuring in various shows including “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” He soon started to secure guest roles in series like “Touched by an Angel,” “NYPD Blue,” “Nurse Jackie,” “Homeland,” and multiple “Law & Order” installments. While most of his roles were one-off appearances, he sometimes landed recurring parts. Notably, Pascal played an assistant district attorney in the first two seasons (2009–11) of “The Good Wife” and an FBI agent in “The Mentalist” in 2014. He also debuted in films with “Hermanas” (2005; “Sisters”) and appeared in other movies like “The Adjustment Bureau” and “Sweet Little Lies” in 2011, although his primary focus remained on television.

Pascal consistently found acting opportunities, but major roles were hard to come by until 2014, when he portrayed Oberyn Martell in the fourth season of HBO’s “Game of Thrones.” His portrayal of the vengeful, pleasure-seeking prince who suffers a tragic fate became highly popular among fans, significantly boosting his career. This success was followed by his acclaimed role in Netflix’s “Narcos” (2015), where he starred as Javier Peña, a DEA agent on the trail of Pablo Escobar. The show, which continued until 2017, was well-received by critics and audiences alike.

Pascal’s rise to stardom was further propelled by “The Mandalorian” (2019– ), a part of the Star Wars franchise, where he starred as the titular character, Din Djarin, also known as Mando. In this role, he portrayed a masked bounty hunter tasked with finding Baby Yoda (Grogu), but ends up protecting the child and fleeing with him instead. Following this, Pascal landed the role of the complex and burdened Joel Miller in HBO’s “The Last of Us” (2023– ), a post-apocalyptic drama adapted from a video game. Set in a world ravaged by a cordyceps fungus infection that turns people into zombies, the series follows Miller as he escorts 14-year-old Ellie (played by Bella Ramsey), who is immune to the infection, across the country in the hopes of developing a cure. The series, known for its blend of thrilling and emotional narratives, received critical acclaim and quickly became essential viewing.

Films and other activities

While primarily focusing on television roles, Pascal still made occasional appearances in cinema. In 2016, he took on a supporting role in the action-adventure film “The Great Wall.” He gained further attention for his standout performance as an antagonist in “Kingsman: The Golden Circle” (2017), an action-comedy based on a comic book series about a secret intelligence agency. In 2018, he co-starred with Denzel Washington in “The Equalizer 2.” Among his later significant film roles was in “Wonder Woman 1984” (2020), a film adaptation of the famous comic book, where he portrayed the supervillain and devoted father, Maxwell Lord. Pascal has also demonstrated his talent on stage, making his Broadway debut in 2019 as Edmund in “King Lear.”

Beyond his acting career, Pascal is an advocate for LGBTQ rights. His advocacy became more personal when his younger sister, Lux Pascal, came out as a transgender woman in 2021.