PEDRO PASCAL’S career has been in the spotlight since HBO’s The Last of Us premiered in January, and The Mandalorian returned for a third season on March 1.
The 47-year-old Chilean-born actor now appears in two of television’s most popular shows. He also hosted the season’s funniest Saturday Night Live episode.
Pascal acknowledges that The Mandalorian has exceeded expectations. “But it’s also no surprise,“ Pascal said during a press junket in Los Angeles with the show’s co-creators.
“Because it was so evident to me that Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni knew what they were doing, and put their entire hearts into it. As did hundreds of staff people, cast members, and everyone else involved with the show.
“So it’s because of that kind of dedication that people have such a great show to see.” Pascal said.
On social media, comparisons between The Mandalorian and The Last of Us – in which Joel (played by Pascal) escorts Ellie (Bella Ramsey) through a dystopian nightmare – have proliferated.
Pascal said: “The trope of protector and protected, father and child, parent and child, is not brand new to any of us. So I think that both shows derive from other sources in the most beautiful way and then bring their own originality to them.”
Pascal added: “I feel like if Grogu and Ellie met, they would ditch me,” he cracks. “And be like, ‘Bye, besties.’”
The Mandalorian season 3 is now streaming on Disney+.