Pedro Pascal is still riding on a high of goodwill from his friends and colleagues. His acting peers awarded him an upset victory at the SAGs last month, naming him best male actor in a drama series for The Last of Us, over Succession’s Kieran Culkin, who had been sweeping the category up to then. But even Kieran’s wife Jazz Charton congratulated Pedro on her Instagram for his winning over her husband (albeit by calling Kieran a loser; her words, not mine). And Jazz wasn’t the only one. Sarah Michelle Gellar posted on Instagram last year praising Pedro, who appeared on one episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer in 1999. Now Pedro is talking about how that one gig kept him going during the many years it took him to “make it” in Hollywood:
Pedro Pascal is reflecting on how his Buffy the Vampire Slayer role saved him financially.
“My entry level lasted about 15 years,” Pascal, 48, told Entertainment Tonight earlier this month. “We’re talking about being able to see a doctor, getting sick, having surgery, paying my rent. I had less than $7 in my bank account and a residual from Buffy the Vampire Slayer showed up and saved the day and literally is the reason I was able to stay in [Hollywood] and not give up.”
Pascal appeared on the season 4 premiere of the WB series as Eddie, a freshman at UC Sunnydale who bonds with Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) in their mutual struggle to adjust to college life. Their friendship is quickly squashed, however, when Eddie is turned into a vampire by a group of undead goths scavenging student’s belongings. Buffy, of course, is forced to drive a stake into his heart when she meets back up with her new pal. Friendship over.
Despite his time on the show being brief, both Pascal and Gellar, 46, look back on the cameo fondly. In February 2023, Gellar took to Instagram to share a throwback photo of the duo from the 1999 episode, captioning the post, “When #Mother met #Father.”
Pascal was alerted to the sweet shout-out the following week and recalled his fond memories of working with Gellar on set.
“Sarah Michelle Gellar posted about me? I need to get on the World Wide Web,” he quipped to ET before recalling the actress sharing a tasty treat with him in between scenes. “She had ice cream in her trailer, and she gave me some. I had to have lunch in the vamp mask. I remember everything.”
It may have taken nearly two decades for Pascal to find his big break, but he’s taken the world by storm in recent years. Last month, he won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series for his role as Joel Miller in HBO’s The Last of Us. He was nominated against Succession’s Brian Cox, Kieran Culkin and Matthew Macfadyen as well as The Morning Show star Billy Crudup.
“This is wrong for a number of reasons. I’m a little drunk. I thought I could get drunk,” Pascal joked during the acceptance speech. “Thank you, HBO. Geez Louise, I’m making a fool of myself but thank you so much for this.”
He added, “I’ve been in the union since 1999 so this is an incredible f–king honor. I have no skills; I have no other interests, so the least you could do is give me a job. … I’m gonna have a panic attack and I’m gonna leave.”
Oh brother, if I had a nickel for every time I made a really good friend but then had to drive a stake through their heart cause a group of undead, scavenging goths turned them into a vampire… I’d have a tidy sum of nickels. I’m glad the guest starring spot on Buffy provided Pedro with enough nickels to keep going, if only just barely. It’s why securing better residuals for actors’ work on streaming shows was such an important part of the SAG-AFTRA strike last year. They should’ve dispatched Pedro to the frontlines with a megaphone to tell that story! Pedro really is the ultimate poster boy for never giving up. Lucky for all of us that he didn’t. I’ll only quibble with him on one point: no, Pedro, you don’t need to get on the World Wide Web. Whatever you’re doing now, it’s working. Even the serial killer-esque method of line memorization. Carry on.
Photos credit: Faye’s Vision/Cover Images, Xavier Collin / Image Press Agency / Avalon, Jeffrey Mayer / Avalon
He’s one of those people who’s gotten better looking as he’s gotten older. Damn him. For most of us, it’s the opposite. 🙂
MTE! If you’d told me when that episode first aired that someday the entire known universe would be panting over the skinny kid with five minutes of screen time, I’d have asked you to put down the crack pipe.
I know, right? He’s so unremarkable in Buffy. And now he’s an insanely charismatic, sexy daddy!
Right?? He was better in the mentalist, but clearly age and maturity works for him. Love the Pedro stories!
I started watching Buffy last year as I missed it at the time and decided to finally catch up and his was one of the appearances where I did the “wait, is that…” and hit google. I love it when now famous people turn up randomly in small/early roles and clearly it can have a positive impact for them too – back when residuals were worthwhile. Midsomer Murders was great for that too.
I still haven’t finished Buffy but even the friend who was actively trying to get me to watch it agrees that it tails off massively in the final seasons.
Band of Brothers has so many now very famous faces.
I love all the goodwill surrounding Pedro.
I can only imagine he must a good person and as supportive of others, as they are of him.
And he’s hot to boot. What’s not to like?
He does seem like a really goodhearted person. He looked great at the SAG awards, so glad he took home a trophy, his work was amazing.
Nothing like a little Pedro post to go with my morning coffee, thanks for the extra boost!
Watched Equalizer2 over the weekend (again) and boom…there he was! Playing a bad guy very realistically. What kind of blows me away is he looks the same and that was what….um, it was before the pandemic. Got it! That was 2018 (thanks google).
I appreciated that he’s willing to show his work. He’s not acting like this was an overnight success for him. He’s been toiling away. He talks about how his friends supported him, he supports other actors. Especially through the strikes and everything, it’s nice to see someone acknowledge the labor that goes into film and television.
Maybe some more Hollywood-savvy celebitchies can help me understand. It sounds like the appearance in one episode (and in a minor role) of a popular TV show provided him with enough residuals to pay his bills for years? Is that possible? Wow. What were residuals for regular cast members like then? And with the result of the SAG Aftra strikes, will actors now make anything close to that?
I’m no expert on this, but I knew someone who around that same time (late 90s) was an extra in a dumb teen movie. She was not union and made $500/day. I have no idea about residuals, but I believe you need to have a certain number of appearances to be eligible for the union, which then means you have health insurance. So, I’m guessing that this one appearance paid him just enough to make rent that month, and then put him over the top for union eligibility, which gave him the security necessary to keep at it. (He says he’s been in the union since 1999, so the timing matches this episode).
Yes, once you are in the union you get health insurance so he was able to go to the doctor, which must have really helped. I imagine before that he didn’t have any insurance and if he had gotten sick or hurt would not have been able to get help. It also was something to put on his resume, and at the time Buffy was one of the biggest shows on TV. I’m sure that got him more auditions and roles, even if they were just “guest” parts here and there.
Thanks so much BettyRose and D, it makes a lot more sense now. I read it as it enabled him to pay for health care and surgeries for years, which sounded a bit bizarre. With your explanation, I understand. What a knowledgeable community.
I remember that episode from seeing it when it aired! I’m happy and amazed it sustained him financially when he needed it.
It was also nice to read the sweet anecdote about Sarah’s kindness to him. I remember there being some nasty snarky gossip about her personality toward the end of the show’s run. Of course back then it wasn’t widely known what Joss Whedon was putting some of the women through. I think her decades long friendships in the industry can also speak for her character.