Liane Hentscher/HBO
Last weekend, Pedro Pascal won the fan vote to take the Male TV Star of the Year trophy at the People’s Choice Awards for his role as Joel in HBO’s The Last Of Us. Six days later, he won the vote of his peers to land the SAG Award for Male Actor In a Drama Series, his first major industry recognition.
Having lost out to Succession’s Kieran Culkin at previous awards shows this season, Pascal looked stunned when his name was called.
“This is wrong for a number of reasons,” he said onstage. “I am drunk. I thought I could get drunk.”
Later in the press room, Pascal revealed he drank tequila and confirmed that he was “genuinely surprised” by the win, which made him tear up with his publicists backstage.
For the SAG Awards, held in Los Angeles, Pascal flew in from Vancouver where Season 2 of The Last of Us has been in production since February 12. (He accepted the People’s Choice Award remotely.)
“Filming is going amazing,” Pascal told Deadline about the first two weeks of production. “It’s sort of awe-inspiring the kind of focus and dedication that everyone has going into Season 2.”
He went on to single out The Last of Us co-creator/executive producer Craig Mazin and his co-lead Bella Ramsey, calling them “this kind of guide and leadership that I’ve not experienced before.”
“It’s incredible to be back home with them and creatively and everybody, our entire crew, they’re working harder than I could even imagine, even harder than our first season which is close to impossible. It’s pretty inspiring and unbelievable and this is because of them,” Pascal said, referring to his SAG Award.
He later spoke more about returning to the The Last of Us set for Season 2 to reprise his role as Joel.
“Stepping into those boots again, it feels strangely brand new,” he said. “I’ve never done anything like this before that has such original authorship before I ever got to it.”
The Last of Us is based on the popular video game of the same name, with the game’s Neil Druckmann co-creating/executive producing the TV series alongside Mazin.
“And then to be given the space to author what would I have to give and to be under Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann and alongside Bella Ramsey has been really the whole reason it works for me,” he said. “I guess I’m learning something new every day, and I’ll be thinking about it probably for the rest of my life.”
Here are Pascal’s backstage remarks:
Major cast additions for Season 2, which is based on The Last of Us: Part II game, include Kaitlyn Dever as Abby, Isabela Merced as Dina and Young Mazino as Jesse.
Mazin and Druckmann are directing episodes from Season 2 alongside Season 1’s Peter Hoar as well as Mark Mylod (Succession), Nina Lopez-Corrado (Perry Mason), Stephen Williams (Watchmen) and Kate Herron (Loki).
Laura Davis is an entertainment aficionado who delves into the glitz and glamour of the entertainment industry. From Hollywood to Broadway, she offers readers an insider’s perspective on the world of movies, music, and pop culture.
