Pedro Pascal is a household name these days, but he is still starstruck from his breakout role on Game of Thrones. The actor looked back on his career so far in a new interview with Vanity Fair, and he had as much to say about Game of Thrones as anything else in his career. The actor had short roles on TV and lots of work in regional theater, but he was still a surprising choice for the role of Oberyn Martell in the fantasy show’s fourth season. In hindsight, he feels that everything from The Mandalorian to The Last of Us and The Fantastic Four: First Steps all stemmed from that one shot.
“It was a game changer,” Pascal said of Game of Thrones. “It’s the reason that I’m here now, I think. I don’t know — I know. I still can’t believe it happened — that David Benioff and D.B. Weiss would take this chance. They could have had, I don’t know, whoever they wanted. And that they actually paid attention to somebody who had a lot of regional theater, off-Broadway work, and episodic television on their resume, to step into this kind of part in the height of their popularity… To this day, I kind of am indebted to them for my career.”
Pascal played the fan-favorite role of Oberyn Martell, appearing only in Game of Thrones Season 4, but he left a lasting impression. The Dornish Renaissance man was already beloved in the books, and Pascal brought him to life perfectly on screen. He credited a close friend and fellow actor with helping him land the part as well.
“One of my best friends, Sarah Paulson — her best friend Amanda Pete had a lot to do with it, because they put my audition tape in front of [Benioff and Weiss],” he explained. “The experience that I had in doing it, because I was such a fan of the show, it didn’t even need to change anything for me for it to be as special as it was, because I was obsessed with the show. And then getting to go and be with this ensemble, and on those locations in a comfortable costume and in a really good role… I could barely f—ing believe what was happening to me, to be honest with you. I was sitting in the throne room during Tyrion’s trial, and I had a view of everyone, and I was with all these main players, and it was just nuts.”
In the same interview, Pascal spoke at length about the technical side of his performance — particularly his duel against Gregor Clegane (Hafthor Björnsson). Those interested in special effects could find a lot of insight here, while Pascal was proud to say he had done much of this choreography himself.
That won’t be the case for Pascal’s next big role, unless he’s been exposed to a solar storm recently. The Fantastic Four: First Steps hits theaters on July 25th.
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