Pedro Pascal is now a global star with ‘The Last of Us’, ‘The Mandalorian’, and soon, ‘Fantastic Four’. But his journey to the top came after years of heartbreak, rejection, and personal battles. In a candid interview with Vanity Fair, the 50-year-old opened up about his past, admitting, “You think not getting a job can break me? I’m already broken.”
Painful Past Before Stardom
Pedro Pascal was born in Chile and fled with his family to Texas as a baby, escaping Pinochet’s regime. His mother, Veronica, was just 22 when she moved, raising kids while studying child psychology. His dad was a fertility doctor. As a child, Pedro loved films and would scream, “A movie is coming!” every time HBO’s music played.
But life wasn’t kind. After moving to Orange County, he was bullied constantly for being “weird and sensitive.” He recalled, “I don’t know if I would have survived the bullying if my mom hadn’t pulled me out.” She enrolled him in a performing arts school, giving him a second chance.
As a teen, Pedro fell into drugs. He would take his mom’s Volvo and drive to L.A. all night with his best friend. “Drugs were everywhere,” he said. At 16, he took acid, called his mom, and she calmly replied, “Oh. I just thought we could all go see a movie.” Hungover, he rushed back and sat beside her in silence at the theatre.
Fame Came Late—and Almost Didn’t Happen
In his 30s, struggling and broke in New York, Pedro nearly gave up acting. “Past 29 without a career meant that it was over, definitely,” he said. He considered nursing but admitted, “I’d be a selective nurse… I’d fall in love with some patients and hate others.”
His sister, Javiera Balmaceda, now a producer at Amazon, refused to let him quit; she said, “The one thing we’d never allow Pedro to do was give up.”
Pedro battled insomnia and grief, especially after losing his mother to suicide. He coped by reading James Baldwin and adopting a rescue dog, Gretta. Criticism still stings: “He’s too old. He’s not right. He needs to shave.”
But support from stars like Robert Downey Jr. helped him accept vulnerability. Looking forward to Fantastic Four, he said, “You just never know if people are going to be disgusted by your heart or not.”