Pedro Almodóvar is convinced Pedro Pascal is one of the greatest working actors today.
The Oscar-winning writer-director, who helmed queer Western “Strange Way of Life” starring Pascal and Ethan Hawke, told The Independent that Pascal is more than just his viral roles in “The Last of Us,” “Game of Thrones,” “The Mandalorian,” and “Narcos.”
“He really is an actor. He can do comedy and drama. He can do musicals and classical theatre,” Almodóvar said of Pascal. “I feel like people are pigeonholing him.”
He continued, “One of my hopes is that, after people see ‘Strange Way of Life,’ a light bulb might go off in people’s heads and they’ll say, ‘He can do more than what we’re employing him to do.’ Not only epic roles! I don’t have anything against epic roles, but he is more well-rounded as an actor than that.”
Almodóvar previously told IndieWire that “Strange Way of Life” harnesses a unique performance from Pascal, one that according to Almodóvar, is unprecedented.
“I think it really shows a range of registers he can hit that people haven’t given him yet,” Almodóvar said earlier this year. “I hope the audience can appreciate that.”
Pascal shared that he signed onto the short film to expand his own indie film background.
“I loved the idea of Pedro addressing an era of cinema in a location that held the physical history of some of our most beloved and rebellious Westerns,” Pascal told IndieWire. “There’s something so much more intimate about being under the singularity of someone’s vision. Even more so when it’s a vision that has been such influence over your creative inspiration.”
Pascal continued, “Pedro put his trust in us to inhabit the story as he felt so much of the work was accomplished by casting. I think there’s a disarming and playful sexiness to everything Pedro does, so it’s exciting to step into that world. It also helped to have a scene partner as good as Ethan.”
Next, Pascal is starring in “The Last of Us” Season 2 and Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator” sequel alongside Paul Mescal and Barry Keoghan. Academy Award nominee Mescal admitted that he was too “afraid” to speak to Pascal at first given his stardom.
