Pedro Pascal is an American actor of Chilean
descent. The son of political refugees, he walked a long way toward his goal, overcoming
many setbacks. But now Pedro is known all over the world and receives million-dollar
royalties. We will tell you about this difficult path to success in this video.
Pedro Pascal – how the star of The Last of Us lives, and how much he earns
José Pedro Balmaceda Pascal was born on April 2, 1975 in the Chilean capital – the city of Santiago
– in an educated family. His mother Verónica Pascal Ureta worked as a child psychologist, and
his father José Balmaceda Riera was a fertility doctor. In those years, Chile was under the
rule of Pinochet, and Pedro's parents were involved in the resistance movement against the
dictatorship. Shortly after their son was born, they were forced to flee to escape repression.
First, José and Verónica asked for asylum at the Venezuelan Embassy in Santiago, then moved
to Denmark, until they finally settled in the United States. Pedro and his older sister Javiera
spent their childhood in Texas and California, and younger brothers Nicolás and Lucas were
born there. In 2021, it was revealed that Lucas had changed gender and identifies as a woman
named Lux, and Pedro supported this decision. Forced migrants José and Verónica could not return
to their home country, but sometimes they sent their children to see their relatives. Pedro made
his first independent journey when he was only 4 years old. Together with his sister, they flew on
the plane, and the flight attendants helped them. Pedro's parents received permission to return to
Chile when he was 8 years old, and since then they have regularly celebrated the date of family
reunification. Now the actor enjoys spending time among his relatives in Santiago, but admits
that for them he is still a 'gringo', a foreigner. The boy was a foreigner in the USA as
well. He was different from his classmates, that’s why he became best friends with Grace Rowe,
a Korean by birth, who was just as different from everyone else. But at home it was warm and cozy.
Pedro's parents tried to preserve their native culture. They spoke Spanish with the children,
and spent the evenings like a typical Chilean family: they had dinner together at a large
table, telling each other about their day. At the same time, José and Verónica
tried to lead an active social life. They took the children to rock concerts
and especially often to the cinema. Dr. Balmaceda was a huge fan of this art and took
his family to the movie theater three times a week. He was the person who inspired
Pedro's interest in the acting career. However, the boy had a serious interest
in swimming until his teenage years. At the age of 11, he even participated in Texas
state competitions, but his love of reading classical works led him to a drama club. His
interest in the theatrical art immediately overcame the love of sports, and Pedro stopped
training in the pool. During his school years, the future actor was very active. He enjoyed
dancing and, as he says, "danced through his youth." But over time, laziness won out, and
now he is having a hard time convincing himself to go to the gym. But when he manages to do
it, he is still most comfortable in the pool. The actor studied acting at the Orange County
School of the Arts, from which he graduated in 1993. After that, the 18-year-old went to
New York to continue his education at the famous New York University's Tisch School
of the Arts. This educational institution has brought up many bright stars of
cinema, theater, and show business. New York has become a real home for Pedro.
He liked to study acting, and he enjoyed to the fullest the carefree student life in the
metropolis. And to pay the bills, the young man got a job as a waiter. However, he was not
very good at it and changed more than 15 jobs. Meanwhile, his parents returned to Chile,
and again it was a forced decision. In 1995, a lawsuit was filed against José Balmaceda in
connection with his work at the infertility clinic, which he managed together with his
partners. He was accused of stealing eggs with embryos and implanting them to other
patients, but Pedro claims that his father did nothing wrong. By the way, in Chile, Dr.
Balmaceda also opened an infertility clinic. In 1997, Pedro successfully completed his studies
at the Tisch School of the Arts and went to Los Angeles. For some time he was struggling to
find a job, after which he returned to New York to try his hand at professional theater. He
earned his first awards in the theatrical field. Finally, in 1999, the actor managed to
get roles on television. He voiced the animated series Downtown, and also played
in episodes of the TV series Good vs. Evil, Undressed, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
However, the joy of a breakthrough in his career was overshadowed by the suicide of
his mother. After her death, the actor began using her last name Pascal as a pseudonym.
First of all, to honor Verónica's memory, and second of all, because Americans
have a hard time pronouncing Balmaceda. For the next two years, Pedro was rarely
offered a job. He only appeared in the TV series Touched by an Angel and NYPD Blue, as
well as the TV movie Earth vs. the Spider. The next appearance on the screen happened only
in 2005 in the Spanish-language drama Hermanas, and a year later the actor starred in an episode
of the television series Without a Trace. He can also be seen in one of the
episodes of the TV series Law and Order, which was released in 2008. On the set
Pedro met the actress Maria Dizzya, and they immediately became interested in
each other. It's unclear how long they dated, but this is the only relationship
that Pascal has talked about publicly. The next projects of the actor were the film
I Am That Girl, the TV series Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Nurse Jackie, Lights Out.
Especially noteworthy is the successful legal drama series The Good Wife, where Pedro
Pascal starred in 6 episodes of the 1st season. The actor was much more lucky with
theatrical productions. He played in various New York theaters off-Broadway
and received positive reviews for his work. In 2011, Pascal got a small role in the science
fiction thriller The Adjustment Bureau starring Matt Damon and Emily Blunt. Then, Pedro
appeared in the TV series Brothers & Sisters, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, as
well as the action movie Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe, and the
adventure comedy Sweet Little Lies. At the same time, the actor was supposed
to appear in a television adaptation of the Wonder Woman comics, but the project
was canceled after the pilot. A similar fate awaited the TV series Charlie's
Angels, it was aired only for 4 episodes. In 2012 and 2013, Pedro was featured
in the TV series Body of Proof, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Nikita, Homeland,
but his roles were limited to one episode. In Red Widow, he appeared in 4 episodes. Pascal's
participation in the series about undercover agents Graceland and the detective show The
Mentalist turned out to be even more successful. In addition to small roles on TV and work in the
theater, Pedro Pascal began to teach acting. One day a student told him about a casting for
the role of a certain talkative and arrogant prince wielding a sword. The student
complained that he was too young for it, but Pascal became interested and went
to audition. As he himself jokes: "I stole a job from a child who had just
graduated from school." So fans of Game of Thrones got the screen incarnation of Prince
Oberyn Martell, nicknamed the Red Viper. Although this character appeared only in seven
episodes of the fourth season, released in 2014, the audience remembered the actor's brilliant
performance. Pedro approached the work seriously and trained hard with a wushu master, and at
home, in a rented apartment in Los Angeles, he practiced the techniques he had learned.
Even at the audition, he came up with an elegant accent for his character, which
he borrowed from his father. Even without reading the books that formed the basis of the
series, the actor decided that Prince Oberyn should speak differently from other characters.
However, Pedro watched the previous seasons of Game of Thrones and was a big fan of the series.
Therefore, on the set, he didn't stop pinching himself – he still could not believe that he
had become part of such a large-scale project. On the first day on the set,
Pascal was insanely nervous, especially because one of his biggest scenes
was filmed with his colleague Peter Dinklage. After Game of Thrones, the actor had more filming
offers. In 2015, he played one of the lead roles in the horror film Bloodsucking Bastards, but
received fairly average reviews from critics. Following this, Pascal played in
the dramas Sweets and Exposed, and also appeared together with Heidi Klum
in Sia's music video Fire Meet Gasoline. Also in 2015, Pedro played one of the central
characters of the crime series Narcos, based on the true story of the criminal Pablo Escobar.
To get into character, to better understand his role and the specifics of his work, the
actor communicated with real DEA agents. In 2016, the actor voiced the video game
Dishonored 2 and starred in the fantasy action movie The Great Wall. The director
of this project was the Chinese master Zhang Yimou, who also filmed the 1991
historical drama Raise the Red Lantern, one of Pascal's most beloved movies.
That's why he didn't hesitate to agree to star in the new movie of the
master, and after returning from China, Pedro joined the cast of Kingsman: The Golden
Circle, the sequel to the successful spy film. In 2018, Pedro Pascal appeared in three projects
at once: the drama If Beale Street Could Talk, the science fiction movie Prospect and the action
movie The Equalizer 2 with Denzel Washington. In March 2019, Netflix’s action-packed
thriller Triple Frontier was released, and in November of the same year, the
actor starred in the series Mandalorian, which is an integral part of the Star
Wars universe. The series takes place 5 years after the events of Return of the
Jedi. Pascal played the main role of the lonely bounty hunter Din Djarin. Despite the
fact that most of the screen time his face is hidden behind a helmet, this role gave
a new boost to the career of the actor. On the eve of the filming of the second season,
there were rumors that Pedro Pascal was unhappy with the fact that his character had faded into
the background, and other characters were pulling all the attention to themselves, mainly baby Yoda.
It was even rumored that the actor threatened to leave the project, but this was not confirmed.
Moreover, everyone with whom Pedro worked speaks of him as a merry fellow and a people person.
But his colleague Gina Carano had to leave the series because of a scandal in the social
media. She compared the Holocaust to criticism of Republicans, and Lucasfilm terminated her
contract. This scandal drew attention to Pascal's old post. In it, the performer of the role of Din
Djarin also made a comparison of the events of World War II with modern realities in the United
States, criticizing President Trump's immigration policy. Internet users called for Pedro to be
punished, but there were no consequences for him. The actor will appear in the third season,
which will be released on March 1 this year. After The Mandalorian, the actor starred in
the superhero action movie Wonder Woman 1984, which premiered in December 2020. He got the
role of the villain businessman Maxwell Lord, who hates people with extraordinary abilities. Soon, Pedro appeared in the family
superhero film We Can Be Heroes, and voiced a character in the web television
miniseries Calls. In addition, during that period, the actor engaged in theatrical projects
that were produced online. For example, he participated in the virtual reading of the
play I, My Ruination and in one of the scenes showed a wide range of emotions. This clip of the
actor laughing and then crying has become a meme. In 2022, Pascal appeared as a Mandalorian
in several episodes of the series The Book of Boba Fett. Or rather, on the screen we see
the double, because Pedro was busy filming the series The Last of Us, and during the breaks
recorded his voice lines for the role of Din. In addition, the comedies The Bubble and
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent starring Nicolas Cage were released. Working
in the latter became a challenge for Pedro, and he took a new look at acting. A fun fact is
that during the shooting of one of the scenes, he crashed 14 cars. Fortunately,
he himself was not injured. At the end of last year, filming of the
long-awaited HBO series based on the video game The Last of Us was completed. Pascal
played the main character – the smuggler Joel, and his partner was Bella Ramsey in the
role of the teenager Ellie. At first, Pedro was even a little scared to
communicate with the young actress, but they quickly became friends on the basis of
a shared fear of not meeting the expectations of fans. The actor completely trusted the creators
of the series when working on his character. He didn't even study the original video game
out of fear of imitating Troy Baker too much, who animated Joel with motion-capture technology.
Although he attempted to play The Last of Us with his nephew, the actor quickly realized
that he has absolutely no skills to do so. The first episode was released on January 15 and
on the first night after the premiere gathered 4.7 million viewers in the United States
alone. This is the second highest number of views for a debut episode in the history
of the service after House of the Dragon. Initial reviews by the Western media were
also positive. The media reported that this is a perfect adaptation, which is true to
the original source in almost everything. The show does sometimes repeat scenes from
the original game frame-by-frame. The actors, including Pedro Pascal, also received praise.
By the way, for the first season of 10 episodes, he received $6 million, $600,000 per episode.
Most likely, this amount is indicated without taxes, union dues, and other mandatory
deductions. The series has already been renewed for a second season, so perhaps
the actor's fees will grow even more. With the release of The Last of Us,
Pedro's popularity has grown greatly, which, at least for now, he is very happy
about. He is happy to communicate with fans if they approach him on the street.
This mostly happens when the actor is either going to or coming from work,
because he does not go to bars and clubs, preferring to spend time at home.
By the way, Pascal lives in New York, but prefers not to let the media inside the
apartment. He is equally careful to keep his private life out of the public eye and does not
comment on rumors. And they appear frequently. Thus, Pedro was attributed a romance with a
colleague from Game of Thrones Lena Headey, and even suspected that he is the father of her
daughter. However, it later turned out that the girl's father is another man, and Pascal and
Headey have exclusively friendly relations. Another close friend of the actor is Sarah
Paulson, with whom they were friends since the age of eighteen. The media spread
theories that they dated as well, but since neither Pedro nor Sarah confirmed
anything, the rumors quickly faded. Pascal sometimes goes out on red carpets
accompanied by another of his friends, Amanda Peet. And in 2015, paparazzi caught
him together with the actress of the series The Mentalist, Robin Tunney. At the same time,
they came to the Emmy Award ceremony together, but it is unlikely that there was anything
more than friendship between them, because the girl was in a relationship and
engaged. Another actress, Ana de la Reguera, Pedro's colleague on the TV series
Narcos, was included in the list of potential girlfriends of the actor, however,
but it was limited to a friendship as well. Our hero's lack of officially confirmed
relationships with women has given rise to rumors about his sexual orientation, especially
since he always stands up for the rights of the LGBTQ+ community. Nevertheless, this is only
speculation, because Pascal's transgender sister Lux is a member of this community,
whom he supports in every possible way. Finally, in 2020, Pascal was seen on
the beach with actress Elizabeth Reaser, known for her role as Esme Cullen in
Twilight. However, even in this case, it's unclear whether they are connected
by romantic or only friendly relations. It's not difficult to notice that there is
a lot of sci-fi in the filmography of Pedro Pascal. This is not accidental, because
the actor loves this genre. In his youth, for example, he was keen on watching the
science fiction series Battlestar Galactica. Since then, his love of reading has also
persisted. Pedro especially highlights such works as Watership Down by Richard Adams, One Hundred
Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë, as well
as the works of Salinger. Pascal admits that if it weren't for acting, he would have
taught literature or become a war reporter. And in one of the interviews, the actor said
that one of his favorite cities is Dubrovnik in Croatia. He likes everything about it: the
weather, the view of the sea, the architecture, and he could live there happily all year
round. But it's more a matter of the future, because right now Pascal is busy working
in the United States. Filming of the TV series My Dentist's Murder Trial, based
on real events, is due to begin soon. It is reported that Pedro will play the
role of the doctor. The drama Freaky Tales and the comedy The Uninvited are at
the post-production stage. In the latter, the partner of Pedro will be the
aforementioned Elizabeth Reaser. Now Pascal's fortune is estimated
at $10 million. Some of them were obtained through advertising contracts with
the Chilean wine brand Casillero del Diablo, the Spanish fashion house Loewe,
for which the actor starred in the video of the perfume Solo Loewe, and the
Swedish manufacturer of socks Happy Socks. As for the actor's cars, most often he can be
seen driving a comfortable Mercedes G63 AMG SUV, the base cost of which is about
$160,000. The media also report the presence in Pascal's garage
of the Mercedes-Benz CLK model, one of the best classic Porsche 356 of 1952
and the muscle car Dodge Challenger SRT. Pedro once said that he considered his star roles
to be just luck, because it's all too good to be true. His story really stands out among the
biographies of other Hollywood stars who gained fame in their youth or even in childhood. But that
makes his success today all the more valuable. Are you already watching The Last of
Us? Share your thoughts in the comments.
