Pedro Pascal facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Pedro Pascal
Pascal in 2025
Born	José Pedro Balmaceda Pascal (1975-04-02) April 2, 1975 (age 50) Santiago, Chile
Other names	Pedro Balmaceda Alexander Pascal
Education	New York University (BFA)
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1996–present
Works	Full list
Relatives	Lux Pascal (sister)
Family	Balmaceda
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José Pedro Balmaceda Pascal (born April 2, 1975) is a famous actor from Chile and the United States. For many years, he acted in small roles on stage and television. Then, he became very well known for playing Oberyn Martell in the TV show Game of Thrones (2014). He also gained fame as Javier Peña in the Netflix series Narcos (2015–2017).

Pedro Pascal has starred in many movies like The Great Wall (2016) and Wonder Woman 1984 (2020). He became a huge international star for his main roles as Din Djarin in the Disney+ series The Mandalorian (2019–2023) and Joel Miller in the HBO show The Last of Us (2023–present). These roles made him known for playing characters who are like caring father figures. He has won awards, including a Screen Actors Guild Award, for his acting.

Pascal has also been active in theater since 1999. He performed on Broadway in a play called King Lear in 2019. In 2023, Time magazine recognized him as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. He is also set to play Reed Richards in the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies, starting with The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025).

Early Life and Family

José Pedro Balmaceda Pascal was born on April 2, 1975, in Santiago, Chile. His mother was Verónica Pascal Ureta, a child psychologist, and his father was José Balmaceda Riera, a fertility doctor. Pedro has an older sister, Javiera, a younger brother, Nicolás, and a younger sister, Lux, who is also an actress and an activist.

Two years before Pedro was born, the government in Chile was overthrown by General Augusto Pinochet. This led to Chile becoming a military dictatorship, where the government had total control. Pedro's parents were seen as enemies of this new government. When Pedro was nine months old, his family had to leave Chile for their safety. They first found refuge in the Venezuelan embassy in Santiago for six months.

The family then received political asylum in Denmark. Later, they moved to the United States. Pedro grew up in San Antonio, Texas, and then in Orange County, California. His parents returned to Chile in 1995.

Pedro studied acting at the Orange County School of the Arts and graduated in 1993. He then went to New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, finishing in 1997. After his mother passed away, he started using her last name, Pascal, as his professional name. He did this to honor her and because he felt his father's last name, Balmaceda, was hard for Americans to pronounce.

Career Highlights

Early Acting Work (1999–2013)

In his early career, Pedro Pascal appeared in several TV shows. These included Buffy the Vampire Slayer, NYPD Blue, The Good Wife, and Homeland. During these years, Pascal faced challenges. Besides acting in small roles, he also worked as a waiter in restaurants. He shared that he was fired many times from these jobs.

His close friend, actress Sarah Paulson, often helped him during tough times. She would give him money so he could buy food. Once, when he had very little money, a payment from his role in Buffy helped him get back on his feet. This allowed him to keep pursuing his dream of acting.

Pascal is a member of the LAByrinth Theater Company in New York City. He won awards for his role in a play called Orphans. He also performed in many other plays, both classic and modern. His first movie role was in Sisters (2005). The director chose him because he spoke English well and had a "special face" that was very expressive.

In 2010, Pedro Pascal wrote a play and also directed a play called Killing Play. He also directed other plays. In 2011, he was cast in a TV show pilot for Wonder Woman, but the show was not picked up.

Becoming a Star (2014–2018)

Pedro Pascal at San Diego Comic Con in 2014.

In 2014, Pedro Pascal became widely known for his role as Oberyn Martell in the fourth season of HBO's popular show Game of Thrones. His performance as the passionate prince was highly praised by critics and viewers. Many publications called Oberyn Martell one of the best characters in the series. Pascal himself was a big fan of the show before he joined the cast. As part of the cast, he was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award.

In 2015, Pascal played a vampire named Max in the movie Bloodsucking Bastards. He also appeared in Sia's music video for "Fire Meet Gasoline" with Heidi Klum. In August 2015, he gained even more fame for playing Javier Peña. This character was based on a real-life DEA agent in the Netflix crime series Narcos. .....

In 2016, Pascal starred in the fantasy action film The Great Wall with Matt Damon. He played a mercenary named Pero Tovar. The movie was set in China and featured European fighters battling ancient creatures. Pascal admired the director, Zhang Yimou, whom he had been a fan of since he was young.

Pedro Pascal at San Diego Comic Con in 2017.

In 2017, Pascal played Agent Whiskey, a skilled operative, in the movie Kingsman: The Golden Circle. Critics enjoyed his portrayal of the "cool cowboy" character. In 2018, he was the main villain, Dave York, in the thriller The Equalizer 2, starring Denzel Washington.

He also played Ezra in the film Prospect. Ezra was a tough but mysterious prospector on an alien moon. Many people later compared this role to his future characters in The Mandalorian and The Last of Us, where he plays a gruff man whose heart is softened by a child. Pascal also had a small but important role in the 2018 film If Beale Street Talk.

Worldwide Recognition (2019–Present)

In February 2019, Pedro Pascal made his Broadway debut in a play called King Lear. He played Edmund, a clever and ambitious character. Since 2019, Pascal has played the main character, Din Djarin, in The Mandalorian. This was the first live-action Star Wars TV series on Disney+. This role brought him much wider recognition and helped establish his reputation for playing father figures. In the same year, he played Francisco "Catfish" Morales in the Netflix movie Triple Frontier.

Pedro Pascal in 2022.

He played Maxwell Lord in the movie Wonder Woman 1984, which was released in December 2020. In the movie We Can Be Heroes, he played Marcus Moreno. This role also showed him as a loving and caring father figure.

In 2022, Pascal starred with Nicolas Cage in the action-comedy film The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. His performance in this movie was highly praised. A funny scene from the movie, where Pascal's character looks at Nicolas Cage with a grin, became a popular internet meme on TikTok. Pascal also appeared in The Bubble, a comedy about celebrity life during the pandemic.

In 2023, Pascal starred in the highly anticipated HBO TV show The Last of Us. This show was based on a very popular video game. He played Joel Miller, a tough survivor in a world after a disaster. Joel is tasked with protecting a young girl named Ellie, played by Bella Ramsey. Critics called Pascal's performance one of the best of his career. The strong bond between Joel and Ellie, similar to his role in The Mandalorian, made Pascal famous for playing adoptive father figures. This led to him being called "daddy" in internet culture. Many popular memes of Pascal also came from The Last of Us.

Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey at SXSW in 2025.

In February 2023, he hosted an episode of Saturday Night Live. In April, Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world. In May, he starred in the short film Strange Way of Life with Ethan Hawke. Pascal had always wanted to work with the director, Pedro Almodóvar. This role was another example of Pascal playing a "dad" type character. In July, Pascal made history by being the first Latino actor to receive three nominations in the same year for the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards.

In January 2024, he starred in Freaky Tales. In June, he contributed a spoken part to a song called "Pedro" on musician Omar Apollo's album. In the animated movie The Wild Robot, he voiced Fink, a fox who acts as a parent to a goose. He also starred in Gladiator II, the sequel to the movie Gladiator (2000).

Pascal also had a supporting role in the film Materialists. He is set to play Reed Richards in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025), Avengers: Doomsday (2026), and Avengers: Secret Wars (2027).

Personal Life

Pedro Pascal speaks both English and Spanish fluently. He became close friends with actress Sarah Paulson when he moved to New York City in 1993. He is also good friends with Oscar Isaac; they met while acting in a play in 2005. Isaac and Pascal later worked together in the 2019 movie Triple Frontier. While filming The Last of Us, he became very close friends with Bella Ramsey, calling them "linked souls."

Pascal supports LGBTQ+ rights. He was very supportive of his sister Lux Pascal when she shared that she is transgender. Lux said that Pedro has been an important guide for her. In April 2025, Pascal spoke out against author J. K. Rowling for her comments about trans women.

In December 2023, Pascal called for a ceasefire in the Gaza war and asked people to donate to Doctors Without Borders. In March 2025, he posted on Instagram to support Ukraine. In May 2025, Pascal signed an open letter criticizing the film industry's quietness during the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

Acting Credits and Awards

Pedro Pascal started his acting career in 1996. Some of his highest-rated film and television projects, according to the review site Rotten Tomatoes, include: The Uninvited (2024), The Last of Us (2023–present), If Beale Street Talk (2018), Calls (2021), The Good Wife (2009–2011), The Mandalorian (2019–2023), Prospect (2018), Narcos (2015–2017), Game of Thrones (2014), and Graceland (2013–2014).

See also

In Spanish: Pedro Pascal para niños