Pedro Pascal graced the cover of this week’s Variety and opened up about his breakout success in the Disney+ series The Mandalorian.
The 45-year-old Chilean–American actor was in a self-deprecating mode while talking about himself as the current ‘face’ of the Star Wars franchise, though he joked he was more of a ‘silhouette.’
Instead, Pascal claimed that the Child, better known as Baby Yoda, was the real star of the show.
Rising star: Pedro Pascal, 45, graced the cover of this week’s Variety and opened up about his breakout success in the Disney+ series The Mandalorian
When the interviewer, Adam B. Vary, asked Pascal about becoming the most recognizable Star Wars actor while the films remain dormant, the star brushed him off.
‘I mean, come on, there isn’t a face!’ he said, laughing. ‘If you want to say, “You’re the silhouette” — which is also a team effort — then, yeah.’
Pascal wasn’t just being modest when he called it a team effort, as the majority of the first season featured his stuntmen Brendan Wayne and Lateef Crowder in the Mandalorian’s suit, while he only recorded the dialogue.
However, he was at least featured on set in the season one finale, in which he removed his helmet for the first time to expose his face.
Instead of focusing on himself, Pascal wanted to talk about the true breakout star of the series.
‘Can we just cut the s**t and talk about the Child?’ he said.
Big success: ‘Can we just cut the s**t and talk about the Child?’ Pascal said, claiming Baby Yoda was the true breakout star of The Mandalorian
Big fan: He first saw Baby Yoda during a storyboard meeting with series creator Jon Favreau. ‘That was when I was like, “Oh, yep, that’s a winner!”‘
Pascal used the approved Star Wars lingo, but he was referring to the character best known as Baby Yoda by its adoring fans, though the tiny creature isn’t actually the character who was introduced in The Empire Strikes Back, but merely another member of his species.
The actor said he first got a glimpse of the big-eared creature while browsing Mandalorian storyboards during a meeting with the show’s creator, Jon Favreau.
‘Literally, my eyes following left to right, up and down, and, boom, Baby Yoda close to the end of the first episode,’ he remembered. ‘That was when I was like, “Oh, yep, that’s a winner!”‘
Since the Child first appeared in the series, he has become the subject of multiple memes and inspired a bevy of new merchandise aimed at both children and adult fans of the series, which is darker and more violent than the Star Wars films.
Favreau credited Pascal for helping to give his title character an emotional connection to Baby Yoda.
‘He’s tracking the arc of that relationship,’ he explained. ‘His insight has made us rethink moments over the course of the show.’
Low-key style: Pascal’s cover story included multiple photos of the actor showing off his rugged good looks in casual attire
Casual: He looked straight out of the 1980s in one picture in which he wore a black and blue Hawaiian-style T-shirt under a black cashmere overcoat and with baggy black jeans and white trainers
Bundled up: Another photo featured the Narcos star in an olive and gray tie-dye overcoat with weathered jeans and black rain boots
Pascal’s cover story included multiple photos of the actor showing off his rugged good looks in casual attire.
He looked straight out of the 1980s in one picture in which he wore a black and blue Hawaiian-style T-shirt under a black cashmere overcoat and with baggy black jeans and white trainers.
Another photo featured the Narcos star in an olive and gray tie-dye overcoat with weathered jeans and black rain boots.
The actor inject some color to the photoset in a snap in which he wore a green button-up shirt and matching trousers with a tan corduroy coat.
He looked cool and collected in a casual purple jacket with fleece lining while sitting cross-legged.
Lounging: The actor inject some color to the photoset in a snap in which he wore a green button-up shirt and matching trousers with a tan corduroy coat
Colorful display: He looked cool and collected in a casual purple jacket with fleece lining while sitting cross-legged
The interview also delved into Pedro’s tumultuous childhood, when his family escaped Pinochet’s Chilean dictatorship and traveled to Venezuela and Denmark, before settling in San Antonio, Texas.
It was in Texas that he first dreamed of being an actor, especially after seeing Henry Thomas and Christian Bale in Steven Spielberg’s E.T. and Empire Of The Sun, respectively.
After fifth grade, he moved to Orange County, California, where his father worked as a physician.
Though he suffered two ‘really rough years’ of bullying, his new proximity to Los Angeles opened up acting opportunities.
Dark: Pascal stars as the title character on the Star Wars series The Mandalorian as a masked bounty hunter. Season two premieres October 30 on Disney+
Rare glimpse: He rarely acts in the suit and his character is supposed to never reveal his face, but Pedro took the helmet off in the first season finale
Pascal’s next big role will be as Max Lord in Patty Jenkins’ upcoming sequel Wonder Woman 1984, which is currently slated for a Christmas release.
The actor described his surprise at getting a call offering him the part and a chance to discuss it with Jenkins, instead of him trying to secure an audition.
‘It was a f**king offer,’ he gushed. ‘I wasn’t really grasping that Patty wanted to talk to me about a part that I was going to play, not a part that I needed to get. I wasn’t able to totally accept that.’
Pascal was on her radar after having filmed a pilot with her shortly before he appeared on Game Of Thrones.
‘I got to work with Patty for three days or something and then thought I’d never see her again,’ he said. ‘I didn’t even know she remembered me from that.’
But Jenkins definitely did remember his time on her set.
‘I didn’t need him to prove anything for me. I just loved the idea of him, and I thought he would be kind of unexpected, because he doesn’t scream “villain.”‘
Pascal can next be seen in season two of The Mandalorian on Disney+ starting on October 30.
Coming soon: Pascal’s next big role will be as Max Lord in Patty Jenkins’ upcoming sequel Wonder Woman 1984, which is currently slated for a Christmas release