In the past few years, Pedro Pascal has become a popular movie star and a rising A-lister in Hollywood. He has become one of the bankable stars in the industry with many high-profile projects and works to his name. After his impressive tenure as Oberyn Martell in Game of Thrones (2011-2019), he gained further success and recognition in acclaimed works such as Narcos (2015-2017), The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (2022), The Mandalorian (2019-present), and recently The Last of Us (2023). In a recent interview, Pascal recalls his early days serving as a waiter in various restaurants and the challenges he faced while doing so and not necessarily doing a good job at it.
Pedro Pascal Was Fired Ten Times For Not Being Good at his Job
In a polygraph interview conducted by Vanity Fair, Pedro Pascal was asked several questions regarding his life and career. After answering questions about Narcos and his early swimming career, the aspect of him being a waiter before venturing into acting came about. When asked if he was a good waiter and why he got fired several times, he answered saying,
“I would say I was not a good waiter. So many different reasons. If I liked you, I liked you and If I didn’t, I didn’t. And that didn’t necessarily go well with having a bunch of customers. I was fired often, upwards of, I don’t know, maybe close to 10 times”
Pascal’s confession to his early biasedness and selfishness is him opening up and being true to who he was before. The interview being a polygraph exam, he would be caught if he lied anyway. Hence, he must have decided to spill the beans about his early attitude towards life and people to be the reasons why he could not keep a steady job.
Pedro Pascal had Several Unsuccessful Auditions While Working as a Waiter
Pedro Pascal was interviewed by Dave Holmes, a representative from Esquire Magazine about his early life and start in Hollywood. Pascal revealed a lot of anecdotes regarding his early days in the 90s, working in restaurants and facing a lot of rejections during auditions in films and TV. Holmes described his experience of talking with Pascal regarding his struggling days saying,
“Pascal relives these years for me over brunch at Cafe Mogador on St. Mark’s Place in the East Village the Monday after our fraught experience at Tokyo Record Bar. He had a lot of lean times post-NYU. ‘I was getting my ass f*cking kicked,’ he says. He spent the late nineties auditioning for commercials and industrial films while waiting tables at a laundry list of Sex and the City–era New York restaurants: Time Cafe, El Teddy’s, Pangea, Ruby Foo’s, and on and on—most of which he got fired from, and two of which he says are the places where he ‘really learned how to drink.’ He’d get close on an acting job, and they’d go with the other guy, but the feedback would be good enough for his representation not to drop him. ‘I guess that, and this delusional self-determination, and no real skill at anything else, is what kept me going.'”
Pascal’s hard work and his determination of not giving up finally paid off as he has now become one of the hottest names in the industry. He is now working with the top names in Hollywood including Denzel Washington, and Nicholas Cage, and can stand out amongst these powerhouses through his impressive acting skills and talent.
What is Pedro Pascal Working on Now?
Pedro Pascal had a good 2023 with the humungous success of The Last of Us and the decent reception to the third season of The Mandalorian. He is set to return in future seasons of both shows after the ongoing Hollywood strikes cease and production can start happening.
He has an upcoming comedy-drama called Drive-Away Dolls, directed by Ethan Coen. The film also stars Margaret Qualley, Geraldine Viswanathan, Beanie Feldstein, Colman Domingo, Bill Camp, and Matt Damon. He will also star in the sequel to Ridley Scott’s Gladiator (2000) titled Gladiator 2 alongside Paul Mescal, Denzel Washington, Connie Nielsen, Derek Jacobi, Djimon Hounsou, and Joseph Quinn.
Source: YouTube
