Pedro Pascal reveals how The Mandalorian and The Last of Us made him a true fan favourite

With Star Wars, Game of Thrones and Wonder Woman, Pedro Pascal has been part of the biggest pop culture hits ever — and he now adds gaming sensation The Last Of Us to his credits.

Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsay in a scene from The Last Of Us.

Pedro Pascal has become a deft hand at dealing with ardent fans.

After starring in both Game of Thrones and The Mandalorian, the Chilean-born actor has grown accustomed to seeing folks dressed up as his characters at conventions, posting pictures of their (sometimes X-rated) fan art and wearing T-shirts emblazoned with his face. After all, that’s just what happens to most actors who become part of the iconic worlds created by George Lucas and George R.R. Martin.

“The special thing about these kinds of projects is that they have such a big fan base and that they’re events that are kind of built around being able to interact with these fans and feel the passion that they have for it, which ultimately eliminates the other part of it, which can feel like a lot of pressure or a specific sort of expectation,” he explains.

That’s probably why Pascal had no qualms about taking on yet another idolised fantasy hero. He is now starring in the much-loved role of Joel in the HBO adaptation of the wildly popular game The Last of Us.

Created by Neil Druckmann in 2013 – long before the COVID 19 pandemic – The Last of Us has players navigating a post-apocalyptic America populated by cannibals, who had been mutated by a deadly fungal infection.

Pedro Pascal in a scene from The Last Of Us.

Just as Star Wars and Game of Thrones fans have preconceived ideas about how characters should look and sound, gamers had set views about who would be right to play Joel, the rugged smuggler tasked with safeguarding a young girl named Ellie (fellow Game of Thrones star Bella Ramsey), who may hold the key to creating a cure.

“It’s [fan expectations] a funny thing to navigate ultimately because it’s essential that the love be there and that love informed the authorship of the adaptation or the creation of such and such [Mandalorian, Game of Thrones and now The Last of Us],” he says.

“You know, one wouldn’t exist without the other. And I will say that it’s all based on a mutual love for the material and a mutual desire on the creators’ part to satisfy and ultimately surprise and entertain the people that already love it.

“And also, to find an even wider audience and to deepen the love.”

The Last of Us is no ordinary video game adaptation. But that’s probably because the game itself is not a run-of-the-mill gaming experience thanks to its emphasis on character-driven stories and dialogue.

And, in recent years, its core storyline about a deadly pandemic resonates on a different level because of recent events.

Merle Dandridge – who first played rebel leader Marlene in the game in 2013 – didn’t let her real-life experiences of living through the chaos of Covid-19 effect how she approached her role the second time around.

Pedro Pascal as the title character in pop culture phenomenon The Mandalorian.

The series was shot in Canada at the height of the pandemic. And some of the real-world experiences – cities in lockdown, travel banned and panicked people hoarding groceries – mirrored some of what was unfolding in the scripts.

“Having parallel pandemics in art and in real life could be an obvious connection,” she shrugs.

“But I think for me, it was important to separate them because of my own personal feelings or traumas and experiences around our pandemic. It informed Merle differently than this one informs Marlene.”

Instead, Dandridge says it was her increased age and experience that most affected her portrayal of Marlene in the TV series.

“I think one of the gifts that this process has offered to me is 10 years of getting to know her [Marlene],” she says.

“My imagination which was already running rampant is running even more wild and [I understand] how she got to where she is and what built this stalwart woman that we know … and then also that I’ve had the great opportunity of maturing as an artist and then a maturing in the physical so that I was even more appropriate to play her in front of the camera.”

She likened the experience of filming the same character a decade apart and in a slightly different medium to testing out a new clutch in a manual car for the first time.

“It was a little bit of like: am I am I calibrating this right?” she says.

Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsay in a scene from The Last Of Us.

“Because I had never stepped into her shoes other than in a mocap suit [the motion capture equipment worn by performers for creating special effects]. I had never worn a wig in front of the camera before and I had certainly never physically walked around in that clothing … and those boots weren’t necessarily the most comfortable thing.”

Although he was familiar with the game, Pascal says he was drawn to The Last of Us because it was being produced by HBO (which has a reputation for pushing the envelope to create groundbreaking and critically acclaimed dramas such as Sex and the City, The Wire, Succession and The Sopranos) and directed by Craig Mazin.

After his huge success with the 2019 miniseries Chernobyl, Mazin could have his pick of any projects. An avid gamer, he chose to direct two projects based on video games, The Last of Us for HBO and a Borderlands film for Lionsgate.

“It’s just rare opportunity for an actor to be a part of a production of this scale and know that it’s going to be met with it with the highest of expectation and also pushed to its best potential,” Pascal says.

Merle Dandridge was part of the original The Last of Us video game and returns for the TV adaptation. Picture: Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images

“And the gift of this particular experience is that it comes with these really, really rich characters who have really rich relationships in this grand scale hellscape of an apocalypse.

Mazin has taken some creative liberties with the material including an episode which, in a surprising gear shift, moves away from the action to focus solely on the relationship between survivalist Bill [Nick Offerman] and Frank [Murray Bartlett]. But Pascal says fans could rest assured that the series remains true to the beating heart of the game.

“Their [Druckmann and Mazin] profound understanding of the of these characters, and care for the characters and their relationships was something for us to deeply rely on in the process,” he says.

JAMES WAN ON THE SCARY REALITIES OF M3GAN

HOW TO CREATE A TOP-RATING PODCAST THAT PAYS

ON-SET MOMENT STEPHEN SPIELBERG NEEDED A HUG

That being said, there was some mild concern among The Last of Us’ most passionate players, that Pascal – despite growing up Texas — won’t be using the same thick drawl as the game character.

Pascal says he didn’t want to simply recreate the voice and mannerisms of Troy Baker, who played Joel in the game. Rather, Pascal wanted to be inspired by what he read in the script and to bring his own personality to the character.

“Troy is from Austin, so he has a more thick Texas accent,” he says.

“And I grew up in San Antonio from before I was two years old … And I lived there until I was nearly 12 years old. And so, it was just more a matter of playing with like, what’s in my system already.”

The Last of Us, streaming January 16, Binge

Originally published as Pedro Pascal reveals how The Mandalorian and The Last of Us made him a true fan favourite