Before he was Oberyn Martell on Game of Thrones, Din Djarin on The Mandalorian, or Joel on The Last of Us, Pedro Pascal appeared in one episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer as Eddie in 1999. As it turns out, that episode helped save Pascal’s professional acting career.
He told Entertainment Tonight that his “entry level” career in acting before his more recent breakout successes spanned a period of around 15 years. During that time, Pascal said he faced issues paying rent and had “less than $7 in my account.” Then a residual check for the popular vampire series appeared in his mailbox and changed everything.
“A residual from Buffy the Vampire Slayer showed up and saved the day and literally is the reason I was able to stay in it and not give up,” he said.
Many are adding on to Pascal’s comments here to discuss the state of residuals in Hollywood today. This was one of the key battlegrounds of the recent Hollywood strikes, and actors ultimately won advances to residual payments in some areas of streaming.
In a previous interview, Pascal said he also owes a lot of his recent success to his starring role on Game of Thrones. He told Vanity Fair that being cast on the show changed his life, and he gave credit to D.B. Weiss and David Benioff for taking a chance on an “unknown” actor. “Without Thrones, I would not have had Narcos, The Mandalorian, or The Last of Us.”
Pascal returns in The Last of Us Season 2 to once again play Joel. Production is now underway and the sophomore season is expected to be released in 2025.
