Actor Pedro Pascal is a household name in Hollywood but early in his career he went by another moniker, before a dramatic event prompted him to change his stage name.
Here’s what you need to know.
What is Pedro Pascal’s original name?
The Chilean-American actor was born Pedro Balmaceda.
Why did Pedro Pascal change his stage name?
After the death of his mother by suicide in 2000 when he was 24, he decided to use her maiden name Pascal professionally to honour her, the 48-year-old said in an interview with Esquire.
“And also, because Americans had such a hard time pronouncing Balmaceda,” he said in an earlier interview with Variety. “It was exhausting.”
Pascal’s close friend fellow actor Sarah Paulson opened up about his difficulty in landing roles after his return to New York following his mother’s death.
“He’s talked about this publicly,” the American Horror Story star said, “but there were times when I would give him my per diem from a job I was working on so that he could have money to feed himself.”
It was about 14 years later, in 2014, when he secured his breakthrough role as Oberyn Martell in Game of Thronesthat he then found lasting success.
What shows is Pedro Pascal in?
Lately the actor has appeared in HBO’s hugely successful apocalyptic series The Last of Us and the Star Wars spin-off series The Mandalorian, which catapulted him to fame.
Pascal most recently returned as the title character on the third season of Disney Plus’s The Mandalorian.
Just last week, the show’s producer reflected on the show’s season three, discussing the dilemma he had with Pascal’s character, whose name is Grogu.
The Hollywood star said much of the work that went into the popular shows was “not on my shoulders” and he was fortunate to “make the contributions that I can make”.
“I think it is amazing to feel the fortune of being part of a show like this that works as well as it does – people have been waiting a long time for season three.”
Asked about the specific appeal of The Mandalorian he added: “I think that what is so special about the Mandalorian in particular is that Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni and all the people they’ve brought in … and the love that goes in is reflected back through its fans.
“That’s the ultimate thing to make it as beloved as it is and they keep on outdoing themselves. It’s kind of unbelievable.”
