Every few years, netizens collectively come together to wholesomely fixate on a celebrity; 2023 appears to be the year of Pedro Pascal. Riding on the coattails of his success with The Mandalorian, the Chilean-born American star’s charm has enamored a legion of fans.
Interestingly, Pascal has been dubbed as a “daddy” by many due to his recent roles in The Mandalorian and The Last Of Us, where he portrays a father figure to Grogu and Ellie, respectively. The 47-year-old has also accepted this and coined the phrase, “Daddy is a state of mind,” during an interview with Vanity Fair.
Top Characters Portrayed By Pedro Pascal In Movies and TV Shows
Pedro Pascal’s take on The Mandalorian or The Last Of Us‘ Joel Miller is not the only reason behind his stardom in social media. Throughout his career spanning over 25 years, the actor has almost 60 credits. Here are a few of Pedro Pascal’s best roles till date:
Eddie, the Vampire (Buffy The Vampire Slayer)
While this is nowhere near Pedro Pascal’s most iconic roles, his take as Eddie in the fourth season of Buffy The Vampire Slayer has been one of his earliest opportunities where he was able to portray his acting abilities. In 1999, Pascal appeared as Eddie in the fourth season’s first episode titled “The Freshman.”
In the episode, Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) met Eddie at UC Sunnydale, where she briefly interacted with him. However, the charming Eddie is killed and turned into a vampire, forcing Buffy to “slay” him again.
Related: Fan Reactions To The Last Of Us Season 2 Announcement Fits Pedro Pascal Laugh/Cry Meme Perfectly
Nathan Landry (The Good Wife)
In the series, Pedro Pascal portrayed the assistant State’s Attorney, Nathan Landry. The character appeared in the series’ first two seasons (2009-2011) and was one of Pascal’s first recurring roles, where he shone with his nuanced portrayal of the role.
According to Pascal’s breakdown of his role in an interview with GQ, the actor labeled the character as an “a attorney, who was keeping Julianna Margulies’ Alicia Florrick’s husband, Peter Florrick, in jail…”
Agent Marcus Pike (The Mentalist)
In this series, Pascal portrayed Pike, who fell in love with Robin Tunney’s Teresa Lisbon. Though Pascal’s take on Pike was charming and resulted in a brief wholesome relationship with Lisbon, she ultimately chose the series lead, Patrick Jane.
Although Pascal was in The Mentalist for seven episodes in season six, the character of Pike connected with the viewers in the role of a misfortune love interest.
Francisco ‘Catfish’ Morales (Triple Frontier)
Pedro Pascal played Catfish, a former Delta Force pilot in Triple Frontier. As Morales, the Chile native portrayed a shady yet charming character who is extremely loyal to his friends. In this role, Pascal also shone with his comedic banter.
Furthermore, Pedro Pascal starred alongside Ben Affleck, Charlie Hunnam, Garrett Hedlund, and his longtime friend Oscar Isaac. This gave the world glimpses of Pascal and Isaac’s bromance throughout the publicity campaign for this film.
Maxwell Lord (Wonder Woman 1984)
Though viewers thoroughly bashed the 2020 film by Patty Jenkins, Pascal’s take on the antagonist Maxwell Lord was one of the highlights. In the albeit poorly-written role, Pascal tried his best to portray the famed supervillain from DC Comics.
While most of the film was affected by a subpar script, Pascal brought his usual A-game and succeeded in establishing the character as a complex antagonist with a certain level of understandable motivation. Furthermore, Pascal’s Max Lord gave netizens the “Life is good, but it can be better” meme.
Dave York (The Equalizer 2)
Like Wonder Woman 1984, Pedro Pascal’s take as the villain, Dave York, in The Equalizer 2 was one of the best highlights of the film. Throughout the film, Pascal went toe-to-toe with Hollywood legend Denzel Washington in their respective roles.
As a former spy-turned-assassin, York was intense and unhinged. Pascal’s performance maintained the antagonistic vehemence and proved how adept he is at playing a villain.
Ezra (Prospect)
Dust(Gunpowder & Sky)In this underrated 2018 sci-fi drama, Prospect, Pascal portrayed a prospector on an alien moon. The film showcased the journey of protagonist Cee and her father, Damon, who crash land on the moon. In their attempt to reach their prospecting site, Cee and Damon meet Pascal’s Ezra and his prospecting partner.
Pascal’s take on Ezra, combined with the thrilling script, made this one of his best roles. In the film, the actor masterfully played Ezra in his complex character arc, where he initially started as an antagonist and later became an ally for Cee.
Agent Jack “Whisky” Daniels (Kingsman The Golden Circle)
In the second Kingsman film, Pedro Pascal played one of the primary antagonists, Agent Whiskey of the Statesman agency. As a rogue and mole agent, Pascal’s Whiskey has one of the best action scenes with his whip and revolvers.
Despite the corny dialogues, Pascal’s suave take on the role made it one of the film’s best parts. Ironically, Pascal’s Agent Whiskey overshadowed Julianne Moore’s Poppy Adams, the big bad of Kingsman 2.
Oberyn Martell (Game Of Thrones)
It is safe to say Pedro Pascal’s appearance in GOT as Prince Oberyn “Red Viper” Martell made him a household name like most of the series cast. Though the character appeared in only seven episodes of season 4, Oberyn Martell is easily one of the fan-favorite characters from the show.
Pedro Pascal’s extremely charming and quick-witted portrayal made Martell one of the most iconic characters from Game Of Thrones. However, the character was brutally killed in his quest for vengeance against the Lannisters.
Javi Gutierrez (The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent)
In the film, Nicolas Cage played a fictionalized version of himself, Nick Cage. The actor is offered to hang out with his billionaire fan, Javi Gutierrez. As Javi, Pascal showcases his acting chops in comedic roles. He masterfully portrays a chaotic yet charming superfan who has an LSD-fueled extreme adventure with Nick Cage in their pursuit of developing a film together.
Despite being initially set up as a shady character, Pascal shone through his performance and brought righteousness and a strong sense of morality to Javi.
Javier Peña (Narcos)
Throughout his career, Pedro Pascal has played several iconic characters on TV. However, his portrayal of Javier Peña in Narcos is one of his best roles. He played the real-life former DEA agent with much charm, gravitas and a strong moral compass.
Though the character indulged in some questionable choices in his pursuit of Colombia’s MedellÃn Cartel and the Cali Cartel, Javier Peña always focused on doing the right thing. However, the right thing came at certain personal costs.
The Mandalorian/Din Djarin (The Mandalorian)
While not his breakout role, The Mandalorian is the first time Pedro Pascal played the lead role in a TV series. Though his face is rarely visible in the role, his performance as Din Djarin has made him one of the most fan-favorite characters in the Star Wars franchise.
Furthermore, as mentioned before, Din Djarin’s relationship with Grogu popularized the trope of Pascal’s father figure roles. As Mando, the actor brought an unparalleled sense of heroism with his take on the complex character through his vocal performance.
Joel Miller (The Last Of Us)
Pedro Pascal’s role as Joel Miller in HBO’s highly-appraised ongoing series, The Last Of Us, is perhaps the best one of his career. The actor brought the complexity of the character to life with an extremely layered and heart-rendering performance.
In his portrayal of Joel, Pascal does not skip a beat with his performance which resonates with the melancholic and wholesome moments of the acclaimed series. Though the series has just started, Pascal’s take on Joel Miller easily makes it his best role yet.
With Pascal’s portrayal of such iconic characters throughout his career spanning over two decades, it will be quite interesting to see what future roles Pascal will bless with his performances. Now, the only thing remaining for this Golden Derby winner is to receive a few Emmys for his roles.
Published: Mar 1, 2023 05:42 pm