As the star of The Mandalorian, Pedro Pascal has had quite a career boost ever since debuting as the titular hero of Star Wars' first live-action TV show. Pascal plays Din Djarin, the Mandalorian bounty hunter who dedicates his life to caring for and protecting his foundling Grogu ("Baby Yoda"). Though Pascal was already making a name for himself by the time The Mandalorian premiered in 2019, his Star Wars debut helped to launch him into absolute stardom, thanks to the massive success of The Mandalorian season 1.
Pascal's first breakout role arrived in 2014, when he played Oberyn Martell in HBO's Game of Thrones. It was his role as Javier Peña in Netflix's Narcos, however, that ultimately won him the role of Din Djarin in The Mandalorian. Now, Pascal plays one of Star Wars' best characters, a legacy that is forever immortalized within the iconic franchise. He has, however, played many more roles ever since The Mandalorian season 1, and here's every one of those projects he's starred in.
13 Din Djarin In The Mandalorian Season 2
Release Date: October 30, 2020
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Pascal's first role after The Mandalorian season 1 was his return as Din Djarin in The Mandalorian season 2. After a hugely successful first season, The Mandalorian had the challenge of meeting that high bar, and it certainly did so. Between the live-action debuts of Bo-Katan Kryze and Ahsoka Tano to the returns of Boba Fett and Luke Skywalker, The Mandalorian season 2 was an absolute feast for nostalgic Star Wars enthusiasts. At the core of its story was the heartfelt relationship between Din Djarin and Grogu, which is where Pascal truly shined.
Pascal got to be in the suit a lot more for The Mandalorian season 2 than in season 1, and it certainly showed. With two incredibly executed helmet-less moments, Pascal's performance in The Mandalorian season 2 absolutely cemented his place as one of Star Wars' most memorable actors. His final scene with Grogu as they say goodbye is a standout that still brings tears to viewers' eyes to this day, even long after the pair have reunited in-universe. Even with the helmet still on, Pascal's role in The Mandalorian season 2 is easily one of his best to date.
12 Maxwell Lord In Wonder Woman 1984
Release Date: December 25, 2020
After plenty of delays from the pandemic, Wonder Woman 1984 was finally released in theaters at the end of 2020. Pascal plays the movie's antagonist, the ambitious businessman Maxwell "Max" Lord, who uses an artifact to grant wishes to himself and the rest of the world. The more wishes he grants, however, the more he begins to deteriorate, and the more the world begins to descend into pure chaos. Pascal is no stranger to playing villains, but this was perhaps his biggest role as a villain to date, rivaling his role as Jack "Whiskey" Daniels in Kingsman: The Golden Circle.
Though Wonder Woman 1984 was met with overall mixed reviews, Pascal's performance as Max Lord was often cited as the movie's biggest highlight. Interestingly enough, Pascal's filming for Wonder Woman 1984 overlapped with production on The Mandalorian season 1, which made it part of the reason why Pascal couldn't be in the suit as much. While he may be known as a hero to the Star Wars universe, Pascal's Max Lord is proof that he can do the villain archetype just as well - and further solidifies him as a staple of the single father archetype.
11 Marcus Moreno In We Can Be Heroes
Release Date: December 25, 2020
Also released on Christmas Day in 2020 was Netflix's We Can Be Heroes, a spin-off of 2005's The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3D. Pascal plays Marcus Moreno, the superhero father of the young lead heroine, Missy Moreno. Marcus has made a promise to his daughter to leave his superhero life behind him, but when an alien attack threatens the world, he has no choice but to launch into action. After the aliens take him and his fellow superhero allies, Missy teams up with the other superhero kids to get their parents back.
While Pascal gives a great performance in this children's movie, the true fascinating aspects of his role have little to do with his performance. We Can Be Heroes is helmed by Robert Rodriguez, who also worked on both The Mandalorian season 2 as a director and The Book of Boba Fett as a director and executive producer - two Star Wars projects Pascal has, obviously, been part of as well. We Can Be Heroes also reunites Pascal with his Narcos co-star, Boyd Holbrook, providing the two with a very different vibe than their intense crime drama.
10 Din Djarin In The Book Of Boba Fett
Release Date: December 29, 2021
Pascal was yet again under Robert Rodriguez's direction in The Book of Boba Fett, the first spin-off series to come out of The Mandalorian. Though intended to follow its titular character, Boba Fett, the latter three episodes of the series see Pascal take on a starring role as it bridges Din Djarin's stories between The Mandalorian seasons 2 and 3 together. While a controversial creative choice, Pascal's performance as Din Djarin continues to be well-regarded in this series, particularly in the beautifully lonely episode "Chapter 5: Return of the Mandalorian."
The Book of Boba Fett is the first time Pascal isn't seen at all underneath Din Djarin's beskar in a Star Wars project, which includes a complete lack of helmet-less scenes. Due to this not technically being his own project, this is more than acceptable, even if viewers prefer to see Pascal in the suit whenever possible. Instead, the other Din Djarin actors who often help Pascal to bring the Mandalorian to life stepped in, allowing Pascal to provide his voice in an absolutely stellar performance.
9 Dieter Bravo In The Bubble
Release Date: April 1, 2022
One of Pascal's most unusual projects arrived with Netflix's The Bubble, which was one of the first movies or TV shows to ever feature a plot based on the COVID-19 pandemic. This comedy sees a group of actors join a COVID bubble in order to complete filming on a movie, an ironic take on how this movie itself was filmed. Pascal plays Dieter Bravo, an arrogant actor who's truly only there for the paycheck (and the Kit-Kat bars). Though certainly not regarded as an accomplished movie in the slightest, it's evident Pascal let himself have fun with this particular role.
The most memorable parts of this role for Pascal were very specific elements seen within the movie. As a true testament to the COVID era, the actors make Tik Toks together, which allows Pascal to join his fellow co-stars in some hilariously incredible choreographed routines. For Star Wars enthusiasts, however, the biggest standout scene (and perhaps the most awkward) is Pascal's character taking a virtual yoga class from Daisy Ridley's character while high, which causes him to daydream about his sexual fantasies with her. It certainly isn't the most wholesome crossover between Din Djarin and Rey.
8 Javi Gutierrez In The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent
Release Date: April 22, 2022
Perhaps Pascal's biggest cinematic role to date at the time of its release, he co-starred with none other than Nicolas Cage in the comedy The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. Cage plays himself in this story about his acting career slowly failing, something that his extremely rich super-fan, Pascal's Javi Gutierrez, ultimately ends up helping him with. Javi pays to have Nick at his birthday party, bringing the two men together into an unlikely yet true friendship - though things go awry when Nick is recruited by the CIA to investigate Javi's supposed crime family.
This movie was extremely well-received, with Pascal's performance being a standout for many viewers. What's perhaps the most well-known from this movie, however, is a now-iconic meme. One scene sees Javi and Nick driving while high on LSD to generate more ideas for a movie script they're writing together. The moment sees Nick looking confused at Javi, just for Javi to give him a big smile right back. This has since become a very popular meme template, often seen in Instagram Reels, Tik Toks, and more with the song "Make Your Own Kind of Music" by Cass Elliot.
7 Joel Miller In The Last Of Us Season 1
Release Date: January 15, 2023
In what may now be regarded as Pascal's most well-known role, along with Din Djarin, Pascal plays Joel Miller, one of two main characters in HBO's adaptation of The Last of Us - one of the most beloved video games of all time. Twenty years after a fungus-based apocalypse took over the world, Joel is tasked with protecting the teenage girl Ellie, who's immune to the infectious virus, on a cross-country trek to get her to a team who can use her to create a cure. The journey, and Joel's memory of his own late daughter, bring them close together.
There's almost no doubt that Pascal's role as Din Djarin is what mostly contributed to him winning the role of Joel, as both characters are lone wolves-turned-protectors who become close with the children they have been tasked with protecting. The role of Joel even won Pascal his first major award, when he took home the 2023 SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series. Pascal will continue to play Joel in The Last of Us season 2, which is expected to follow the story of the video game's controversial sequel.
The role of Joel Miller also won Pascal several notable nominations in 2023, including an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series and a Golden Globes nomination for Best Actor – Television Series Drama.
6 Din Djarin In The Mandalorian Season 3
Release Date: March 1, 2023
Pascal most recently returned to the role of Din Djarin for The Mandalorian season 3, the only installment of the Star Wars TV show so far to have been met with mixed reviews. After being reunited in The Book of Boba Fett, Din and Grogu set out to Mandalore in the hope that Din can access the Living Waters beneath the mines of Mandalore to find redemption for removing his helmet. When Bo-Katan Kryze begrudgingly joins him on this journey, her eyes are opened to his people's Mandalorian Way, and she reclaims her role in retaking Mandalore for their people.
Bo-Katan's role in The Mandalorian season 3, which saw Katee Sackhoff take on a fully co-starring role, has become one of the most controversial aspects of the season for many viewers. Unlike the show's first two seasons, this story focuses much more on Mandalore, and Mandalorians in general, than on the episodic adventures of and relationship between Din Djarin and Grogu. This, along with the key setup done in another Star Wars TV show, made for a season that unfortunately fell flat. It did, however, perfectly set up their upcoming movie, The Mandalorian & Grogu, which will see Pascal return.
5 Silva In Strange Way Of Life
Release Date: May 26, 2023
Pascal plays Silva in Pedro Almodóvar's short Western romance Strange Way of Life, which sees his character cross the desert to reunite with his old lover, Ethan Hawke's Sheriff Jake, after 25 years. Tensions between the two rise, however, when Silva's son Joe is the main suspect in the murder of Jake's brother's widow. After attributing their rekindled romance to Silva's desire to exonerate his son, Jake separates from Silva and goes after Joe, although Silva is completely unaware of what his son had done. This puts Silva in a difficult position, stuck between his son and his long-time lover.
As a short film, Strange Way of Life was only released in select theaters for a short amount of time before eventually being added to Netflix, and its reviews are hard to judge based on the negativity some have fostered toward the gay relationship at the core of the story. For many audiences, however, this gay cowboy romance hit the same sweet spot as Brokeback Mountain, which arrived just when Pascal was in the heat of his popularity in 2023 following his debut as Joel Miller. Nevertheless, it's a heartfelt story that embodies all the beloved aspects of a Western.
4 Clint In Freaky Tales
Premiere Date: January 18, 2024
Though it hasn't yet been released, Freaky Tales premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2024, in which Pascal plays Clint. Acting as an ode to Oakland, California, this movie follows four interconnected stories that take place in real locations in Oakland during real historical events in 1987. Also starring alongside Pascal is fellow Star Wars star Ben Mendelsohn (Director Orson Krennic in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story), Jay Ellis, and Ji-young Yoo, and it was one of the last projects that the late Angus Cloud ever worked on.
The historical drama film garnered overall favorable yet still fairly mixed reviews following its premiere at Sundance, and it still has yet to be officially distributed and released. Though Lionsgate currently has the distributing rights, it's still possible that another distributor could pick it up. It's not yet known when Freaky Tales will release, but it's at least been said that Pascal shined in this role, and his performance will certainly be worth the waiting.
3 Santos In Drive-Away Dolls
Release Date: February 23, 2024
Pascal's role in Drive-Away Dolls is brief, yet memorable. Set in 1999, Drive-Away Dolls follows two lesbian friends, Jamie and Marian, on a spontaneous road trip to Tallahassee, Florida, where a drive-away service accidentally gives them a car that had previously been reserved by a criminal mob - and already had illegal contents inside. These contents have to do with Pascal's character, Santos, who opens the film holding a briefcase and is soon after decapitated in an alleyway. It's his briefcase and his decapitated head that are found in the trunk of the young women's car.
This movie may be the first time that Pascal's name was a key part of a cast because of his own star power, seeing as his appearance in the movie is truly so fleeting. The movie was met with overall mixed reviews, with the two leads garnering praise for their performances despite an otherwise criticized screenplay. In addition to Pascal's appearance were other big names, such as Colman Domingo, Matt Damon, and even a brief uncredited appearance from Miley Cyrus.
2 Lucien In The Uninvited
Premiere Date: March 11, 2024
Another movie that has yet to be released commercially is The Uninvited, in which Pascal plays the Hollywood star Lucien. Premiering at SXSW in 2024, The Uninvited is a comedy drama that reveals how the arrival of one uninvited guest at a dinner party unravels into a series of unfortunate events that could change everything for its characters. Little else is known about its story, but it has been praised overall thus far, and will hopefully be released on digital and streaming in the coming months.
As far as Pascal's Lucien goes, there isn't much to say yet, but his performance has indeed been praised as well. His role in The Uninvited continues a trend of Pascal continuing to take part in "smaller" projects despite his meteoric rise to fame in recent years, which is a true testament to his genuine love of acting and good scripts. Once The Uninvited is officially released, there's no doubt his performance in the movie will be talked about even more, in addition to those of his co-stars.
1 Pedro Pascal's Upcoming Roles
Pascal Has Plenty More Projects He Will Be Starring In
Pascal has certainly been a part of many projects ever since his debut in The Mandalorian, but there are still more to come. 2023 was a big year for Pascal, with The Last of Us, The Mandalorian season 3, and Strange Way of Life all releasing within months of one another, but 2024 is already proving to be a challenger for this title. Pascal has already had three roles this year, as noted above, and he will soon be taking on one of his biggest roles yet: Marcus Acacius in Ridley Scott's highly-anticipated Gladiator II.
Pascal has also joined yet another major movie franchise, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, in a key role: Reed Richards. He will make his MCU debut in The Fantastic Four: First Steps in 2025, less than a year before he makes his Star Wars movie debut in The Mandalorian & Grogu. It looks as if Pascal will only continue to develop his career even further in a way he certainly deserves, much of which can be accredited to his incredible debut in The Mandalorian back in 2019.
