HBO won the entertainment jackpot in 2023 with the stupendous success of the series The Last Of Us. Adapted from the eponymous video game, the show starring Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey received rave reviews not just from video game buffs, but also from the general audience after the completion of its first season, with season 2 set to premiere in 2025.
Pascal, who was already a recognizable face with his presence in high-profile shows like Narcos and The Mandalorian, once again proved his worth as a big-league actor with his performance in the video game adaptation. Interestingly while preparing for the role, the star revealed that showrunner Craig Mazin had specific instructions for his cast to stay away from playing the game. But Pascal’s attempt to go against this rule came back to bite him in hilarious fashion.
Pedro Pascal’s Secretive Gaming Methods Was A Colossal Failure
When one looks at some of the shows and series that have created waves over the last few years, the common factor in each of them is Pedro Pascal. From Game Of Thrones to The Mandalorian to Narcos, and finally with the massive success of The Last Of Us, the celebrity has proved that he is a perfect fit in the big leagues.
The show saw the Graceland star play the lead role in an adaptation of a hugely popular video game franchise of the same name developed by Naughty Dog. While it is fair to assume that getting familiar with the game would be an expected way to prepare for the role, showrunner Craig Mazin had some specific conditions for Pascal and the other cast members to stay away from playing it.
But the Game Of Thrones star though, was in the mood for rebellion. In a video interview with IGN, Pascal revealed a hilarious encounter that occurred on set when he decided not to heed Mazin’s advice, and went on to try his hand at the game. What happened afterwards not only put him in an embarrassing spot, but also gave him a reality check on his gaming abilities.
My nephews were watching me play and eventually got tired of my inability to complete the level, so they took my controller from me.
As it turned out, the star didn’t need to be a master gamer by his own admission, as he lived the experience every minute on set when the filming began. The series also succeeded in creating a world that perfectly encapsulated the game and did complete justice to its ethos.
There’s A Method To Pedro Pascal’s Madness When It Comes To Learning Lines
All actors big or small, have their own unique method of preparation for a role that they have managed to figure through trial and error, along with gaining more and more experience in the field. One of the skills that can be very challenging is memorizing lines from a script for a character, and every star may adopt different, sometimes even strange techniques to ensure that they have their dialogues down pat.
Pedro Pascal revealed his rather laborious, but personally very effective method to improve his memory for learning lines, which he shared in an interview with his fellow SAG nominees in the SAG-AFTRA Virtual Round Table. The star showed his colleagues a notebook in which he had drawn columns of letters, almost like a word puzzle. Explaining his complex memorizing process, he stated,
You just use the first letter of each word and in kind of these sort of towers, these, columns, I guess. this very, very tedious way of making yourself learn the lines.
While his fellow nominee Kieran Culkin observed that his notebook squiggles looked like ‘gibberish’, Pascal sportingly played along by saying,
Basically, I’m the Unabomber.
The celebrity’s self-confessed ‘psychotic’ approach to learning lines obviously worked wonders for him, with The Last Of Us and many of his other shows becoming massive hits globally. With the celebrity now having entered the MCU with The Fantastic Four, fans will be waiting to see him embrace this marquee role.
The Last Of Us is streaming on Max.
