Pedro Pascal
Birthdate: Apr 2, 1975
Birthplace: Santiago de Chile, Metropolitan Region, Chile
Pedro Pascal (birthname: Jose Pedro Balmaceda Pascal) appears on the cusp of stardom after a long and notable run as a serious stage actor and reliable, rangy supporting actor in major film and TV work as Zhang Yimou’s The Great Wall (2016) with Matt Damon, Willem Dafoe, and Andy Lau; Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017); Barry Jenkins’ If Beale Street Could Talk (2018); Antoine Fuqua’s The Equalizer 2 (2018), in which he was Denzel Washington’s arch nemesis); Netflix’s Triple Frontier (2019) with Ben Affleck, Oscar Isaac, Charlie Hunnam, and Garrett Hedlund; and Judd Apatow’s The Bubble (2022). Pascal’s busy 2022 includes his co-starring role with Nicolas Cage in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.
Pedro Pascal’s feature debut was in Julia Solomonoff’s Argentinian drama, Hermanas (2005), in which his on-screen credit was his family name Pedro Balmaceda. He appeared in the 2014 season of HBO’s epic series, Games of Thrones as Oberyn Martell, for which he received a shared SAG nomination for Outstanding Ensemble in a Drama Series. On the acclaim he earned for his powerful portrayal of DEA agent Javier in Netflix’s hit series, Narcos (2015-2017), Pedro Pascal earned his first feature starring role in the science fiction thriller, Prospect (2018) with Sophie Thatcher and Jay Duplass.
His robust theatre career includes originating roles for The Manhattan Theater Club, Classic Stage Company, Playwrights Horizons, and Second Stage in New York. Pascal has dipped into the world of superheroes, as in Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman 1984 with Chris Pine and Kristin Wiig, and Robert Rodriguez’s Netflix family movie, We Can Be Heroes, both in 2020. These credits set up Pedro Pascal for the high-profile spot as the title character in the first Star Wars offshoot for Disney +, The Mandalorian (2019-2022), and The Book of Boba Fett (2022).
Pascal played in an action-comedy mode opposite Nicolas Cage in director/co-writer Tom Gormican’s clever The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (2022), with Ike Barinholtz, Neil Patrick Harris, and Tiffany Haddish, premiering at the South by Southwest Film Festival before a tepid (though well-reviewed) release by Lionsgate. Pascal starred in another Lionsgate action comedy under co-filmmakers Anna Boden’s and Ryan Fleck’s direction in Freaky Tales (2024), with Ben Mendelsohn, Jay Ellis, Dominique Thorne, Normani, and Angus Cloud, which launched at the Sundance Film Festival.
Pedro Pascal joined the ensemble of director/writer Nadia Conners’ contemporary Hollywood comedy-drama, The Uninvited (2024), co-starring Walton Goggins, Elizabeth Reaser, Rufus Sewell, and Lois Smith, which premiered at the South by Southwest Film Festival before a limited theatrical release. Pascal had his first major voice role as Fink the Fox opposite lead Lupita Nyong’o in the title voice role of DreamWorks Animation’s The Wild Robot (2024), director/writer Chris Sanders’ vivid adaptation of Peter Brown’s 2016 novel, with the voices of Kit Connor, Catherine O’Hara, Bill Nighy, Stephanie Hsu, Mark Hamill, Matt Berry and Ving Rhames, and which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival and then grossed nearly $300 million (against $78 million costs) for Universal Pictures.
Pascal co-starred with Denzel Washington in director/producer Ridley Scott’s long-awaited sequel and extremely expensive ($310 million estimated budget) Gladiator II (2024), with Paul Mescal, Connie Nielsen, Joseph Quinn, Lior Raz, and Derek Jacobi, released by Paramount Pictures. Pascal then starred with Willem Dafoe and Morena Baccarin in the Barry Gifford-written Brazil-based thriller, Tropico (date to be announced), directed by Giada Colagrande.
Pedro Pascal landed his first role in the Disney/Marvel Cinematic Universe as Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic in the Matt Shakman-directed sequel, The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025), with Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Julia Garner; and then continued in the same role in directors Anthony and Joe Russo’s anticipated Avengers sequels, Avengers: Doomsday (2026) and Avengers: Secret Wars (2027), starring Robert Downey Jr. (as Dr. Doom), Kirby, Quinn, and Moss-Bachrach. Pascal took his best-known role as The Mandalorian to the big screen for the first time in Lucasfilm/Disney’s theatrical debut of the Star Wars franchise spinoff, The Mandalorian & Grogu (2026), directed, co-written, and co-produced by Jon Favreau, and co-starring Sigourney Weaver.
Pascal co-starred with Joaquin Phoenix, Emma Stone, and Austin Butler in director/writer/producer Ari Aster’s contemporary Western, Eddington (date to be announced), with Luke Grimes, Deirdre O’Connell, Micheal Ward and Clifton Collins Jr., and released/produced by A24. Pascal continued with producer-distributor A24 by joining the ensemble of director/writer/producer Celine Song’s second feature, Materialists (date to be announced), co-starring Dakota Johnson, Chris Evans, Zoe Winters, and Marin Ireland.
Personal Details
Born in the Chilean capital of Santiago to parents Veronica Pascal and José Pedro Balmaceda Riera, Pedro Pascal moved to San Antonio, Texas in his early childhood due to his parent’s opposition to the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. His mother was a cousin to Andrés Pascal Allende, the nephew of Chilean Pres. Salvador Allende a leader in the Movement of the Revolutionary Left organized to overthrow Pinochet’s regime.
Pedro Pascal grew up in San Antonio, Texas, and Orange County, California. His siblings are Nicolás Balmaceda, actor Lux Pascal, and Javiera Balmaceda. By the time Pascal was eight years old, his family visited Chile more regularly but kept their U.S. residency. He attended the Orange County School of the Arts and graduated from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. His height is 5’ 10 ½”.
Known For
The Last of Us
(2023)
The Mandalorian
(2019)
Game of Thrones
(2011)
Awards
Nominee, Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series, Screen Actors Guild Awards (2015).
Actor
Screen Actors Guild Awards
Primetime Emmy
Primetime Emmy Awards
Primetime Emmy
Primetime Emmy Awards
Filmography
actor
Upcoming (5)
Previous (14)
- 2024 | Gladiator IIasMarcus Acacius
Gladiator II
After his home is conquered by the tyrannical emperors who now lead Rome, Lucius is forced to enter the Colosseum and must look to his past to find strength to return the glory of Rome to its people.
- 2024 | The Wild RobotasFink
The Wild Robot
After a shipwreck, an intelligent robot called Roz is stranded on an uninhabited island. To survive the harsh environment, Roz bonds with the island's animals and cares for an orphaned baby goose.
- 2024 | Drive-Away DollsasPenis Collector
Drive-Away Dolls
Jamie regrets her breakup with her girlfriend, while Marian needs to relax. In search of a fresh start, they embark on an unexpected road trip to Tallahassee. Things quickly go awry when they cross paths with a group of inept crim...
- 2022 | The Unbearable Weight of Massive TalentasJavi Gutierrez
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent
Moviestar Nick Cage is channeling his iconic characters as he's caught between a superfan and a CIA agent.
- 2020 | We Can Be Heroesas Marcus Moreno
- 2020 | Wonder Woman 1984asMaxwell Lord
Wonder Woman 1984
Diana must contend with a work colleague, and with a businessman whose desire for extreme wealth sends the world down a path of destruction, after an ancient artifact that grants wishes goes missing.
- 2019 | Triple Frontieras Francisco 'Catfish' Morales
- 2018 | Prospectas Ezra
- 2018 | The Equalizer 2asDave York
The Equalizer 2
Robert McCall serves an unflinching justice for the exploited and oppressed, but how far will he go when that is someone he loves?
- 2017 | The Great WallasTovar
The Great Wall
In ancient China, a group of European mercenaries encounters a secret army that maintains and defends the Great Wall of China against a horde of monstrous creatures.
- 2015 | Sweetsas Twin Peter
- 2015 | Bloodsucking Bastardsas Max
- 2011 | Sweet Little Liesas Paulino
- 2008 | I Am That Girlas Noah
Some Facts About Pedro Pascal
Twist of Fate: Pedro Pascal could easily have grown up Danish, since his family, fleeing the Pinochet dictatorship, received asylum status in Denmark. The family opted to move to the United States instead, despite the fact the U.S. had backed Pinochet’s coup against elected Pres. Salvador Allende.
The Swimmer: Pascal was a competitive swimmer and reached the Texas state championships, but later quit to devote his energies to acting training.
Man of the Theater: Pedro Pascal, a member of the Labyrinth Theater Company, played with Glenda Jackson in the 2019 Broadway revival of King Lear; with Liev Schreiber in Shakespeare in the Park’s production of Macbeth; and has directed many stage productions, including Florencia Lozano’s Underneathmybed, David Anzuelo’s Killing Play, and Daniel Talbott’s Yosemite. He has also won a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for International City Theatre’s production of Orphans.
