When the script for post-apocalyptic drama The Last of Us landed in Pedro Pascal’s hands, he insists there was“no hesitation” in accepting an offer to play Joel Miller in the adaptation of the hugely popular video game.
“It was one of those instances where it looked like such a special project,” the 50-year-old tells WHO.
The Narcos star admits, however, that the role came with a lot of anticipation. “I was definitely more afraid with that one than I had been with anything else because of the expectation, because of what people’s personal experience to this immersive game is,” he shares.
“And meeting people’s expectations and still not compromising what is brilliant writing on the page because of this sort of fear, this constant sort of like dance around like, ‘Oh my God, what am I doing? Am I tough enough? Am I cool enough? Am I sad enough?’ And then I was like, ‘Oh, don’t worry about it. The writing is so good. Just f–king do it.’”
It was a wise decision, with the role landing him dozens of award nominations – including a nod for the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series – and securing multiple wins.
Here, the Chilean-born actor takes a look back on his journey to stardom, his bond with The Last of Us co-star Bella Ramsey and how Game of Thrones changed his life.
When did you first meet your co-star Bella?
We were a few weeks into shooting. I had introduced myself to them, like, well before we had started because I knew they were doing the part. But we were shooting for the first episode – they don’t show up until a few weeks in. And they came in for a haircut on a day that we were shooting, and I got to meet them and we just jumped in.
We kind of immediately understood how crazy that was and both had a very strong instinct to take care of one another.
Your characters have an undefinable chemistry. Was it pretty instantaneous?
We were very shy with one another at the start, and I think understood that would serve us well in terms of where the characters are at the beginning of their relationship and where they end up.
There was definitely a kind of guardian energy that was on our side, especially with remembering how nervous we both were and how, “Are we getting along enough? Should we hang out? What do we need to do to create the most incredible chemistry in this dystopian show that at the centre of which is this relationship?”
And [Bella’s] just like, super professional – I don’t know how they could be at such a young age – and that guided me a lot and kept me out of my head. And we just had so much fun.
Was it ever a hard place for you to be in playing the character of Joel in the series?
I think at the start it’s exciting to have these very, very dark things kind of anchor yourself to a character. It’s grounding. You’re not inventing a lot, you know, your daughter dying in your arms. There isn’t a lot left to the imagination, especially as a point of identifying a character – this like point of identity that is part of this character’s arc.
So that’s very helpful actually. But in the physical labour of shooting, definitely. I think at one point we were all very tired and we were on some mountain in some barn and there were these corpses hanging from hooks and I just remember being like, “I wonder if this is f–king me up?”
Did you realise at the time that you were making something very special, and if so, was it hard to keep that to yourself before it came out?
It’s hard to keep it to yourself, but I think that when it is that special, I kind of relish keeping it to myself because I like the idea of it surprising people.
Where did your love of acting begin?
My dad was basically taking us to the movies at a very, very early age on a regular basis. They were very young parents, and he loved movies. He’s a doctor, but he loved to go to the movies.
I would go on a school night all the time – and so it imprinted itself very early, the world of movies. And then we got cable television, which to me was a f–king miracle because it was at home and there weren’t any commercial breaks and none of it was getting censored. I remember perfectly just being like, “This can’t be real.”
When it comes to TV, one of your first jobs after graduating was Buffy the Vampire Slayer. You also did three Law and Order series – how many times were you the killer?
I was always the killer. I remember getting really used to being in interrogation rooms. And it wasn’t just Law and Order, it was CSI, Criminal Intent, Without a Trace, Body of Proof, NYPD Blue – killed somebody in that. Yeah, I was a killer.
Joining Season 4 of Game of Thrones was a game changer for you, right? Were you already a fan going in?
Oh yeah, I was deep into the show when they were casting it.
And that really did open doors for you?
It changed my life, absolutely.
Had you already booked Narcos?
No, I got Narcos because of Game of Thrones. They were shocked to know that I was available because the fight scene [in which my character died] had not aired yet.
Carmen Cuba, the casting director for Narcos, I had known as she had brought me in a lot over the years. And you stick around, and I guess you force these opportunities to happen.
You got to show your funny side in 2022’s The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. Were people resistant to using you in comedy?
I had done comedies on stage. And, of course, a lot of different sorts of Shakespeare comedy. I’m such a f–king nerd, but I was definitely a dramatic actor as far as television was concerned. And there wasn’t anything I felt I could do about that.
I was like, “Fine by me. I’m a dramatic actor. Just give me the job.” And so to be able to do comedy – I think I’d already learned through my experiences in theatre how sophisticated comedy is and maybe I do love it the most in a way. I didn’t think so when I was young – I wanted to be James Dean. And now, “Yeah, give me a comedy!”
Stream The Last of Us Season 2 on Max from April 14, 2025. Subscribe here.
