Ever since his memorable stint as The Viper on Game of Thrones, Pedro Pascal has emerged as one of the most beloved actors in Hollywood. With all that recent success and fame, however, it’s sometimes easy to forget that the actor has been steadily working since the mid-90s—with appearances in everything from Buffy the Vampire Slayer to Graceland. Since then, he's joined some of the biggest franchises of all time, including Star Wars, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and Game of Thrones. So, if after all that you’re still craving more Pedro on your screen, we’ve got you covered. Here you'll find the fourteen best Pedro Pascal performances in movies and TV shows.
Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)
In 2020, Pascal joined Patty Jenkins’s second Wonder Woman feature as the supervillain Maxwell Lord. The film takes place in the 1980s (and if you like period set superhero movies like The First Avenger or Captain Marvel, you might find more to like here than critics gave it credit for) and sees Gal Gadot’s Diana step away from her quiet life to take on the failing businessman Maxwell Lord.
Although Max is in many ways your typical comic book baddie, he goes through quite the arc throughout the film, and Pascal’s performance wonderfully captures the character’s desperation and moral uncertainty.
Triple Frontier (2019)
While Triple Frontier may not be the greatest film of all time, it brings together Pedro Pascal and Oscar Isaac in a gritty action film—and that alone makes it worthy of recognition. The film is also directed by J.C. Chandor, and if you liked his work on Margin Call and All is Lost you might be interested in seeing him work in a totally different gear.
The story follows four former special forces operatives — Pascal’s Francisco “Catfish” Morales, Isaac’s Santiago “Pope” Garcia, Ben Affleck’s Tom “Redfly” Davis, and Charlie Hunnam’s William “Ironhead” Miller — as they team up for a heist on the territory of a South American drug lord. Pascal is not front and centre in this one, but his banter with Isaac and the others elevates the film to a pretty enjoyable watch.
The Equalizer 2 (2018)
Just a couple of years after his big break on Game of Thrones, The Equalizer 2 saw Pascal more than hold his own opposite one of the greatest actors of all time, Denzel Washington — and if you like the Hollywood legend in pure action mode (think films like Man on Fire or Inside Man), this is one you’ll probably be into.
As Dave York, the morally bankrupt antagonist, Pascal displays not only his ample action chops but also his equally remarkable skills at playing a backstabbing villain.
Prospect (2018)
Prospect is one of the most overlooked Pedro Pascal movies that should be on your watchlist. The sci-fi drama sees Pascal actor play Ezra, a merciless prospector searching for rare materials on a forest moon full of poisonous fungal spores. Like his more recent parts (especially in The Last of Us and Fantastic Four), Pascal excels in the role of a conflicted would-be protector, and succeeds in convincingly showing Ezra’s darker instincts and desperation to survive at all costs.
The drama is kicked into motion after a confrontation with the father-daughter duo Cee and Damon (played by Sophie Thatcher and Jay Duplass) — with whom Cee and Ezra wind up joining forces with in an effort to fulfil their mission and stay alive. This is the least famous title on the list, so if you haven't seen Prospect yet, consider checking it out for an underrated Pedro Pascal performance.
The Wild Robot (2024)
One of Pascal’s most understated roles in recent years was lending his vocal talents to The Wild Robot. This is a delightful, animated film — and trust me, if you appreciate films like E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and The Iron Giant, this film is basically guaranteed to make you cry. The story begins when a high tech robot crash lands on a bird’s nest and takes it upon itself to raise the only survivor, a goose named Brightbill. Pascal voices a fox named Flick who becomes the young bird’s unlikely, carnivorous friend. While you won't get to see Pedro's acting abilities on screen, his charismatic performance as Flick serves the story well enough to accompany Lupita Nyong'o's pitch perfect portrayal of the titular robot.
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (2022)
Whether you’ve only seen the meme of a crazy-eyed Pedro Pascal and Nic Cage driving in a convertible, or the mere idea of their two names together is enough to pique your interest, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is without a doubt one of the most fun entries on this list — especially for fans of Cage at his most unhinged (like Mandy or Bad Lieutenant.)
For the film, Pascal gets to display his over-the-top comedic chops and easily holds his own against Cage’s typically bonkers performance. The Hollywood legend literally plays himself, albeit as a washed up actor in need of cash who accepts a paid invitation to a wealthy fan’s (Pascal) birthday party — who of course turns out to be trouble. This is easily one of the most fun-filled Pedro Pascal movies, so check it out if you want to see the actor's playful nature on the big screen.
Eddington (2025)
Even considering all the incredible work that Pascal has done in the last few years, 2025 stands out as a landmark year for the actor. It started with the second season of Last of Us, but Eddington’s premier in Cannes marked a new frontier for the actor: a brush with the highest echelons of cinema culture in a film that — whether critics liked it or not — got everybody talking.
The story takes place in the tumultuous summer of 2020 in the titular town and follows a sheriff (played by Jaoquin Phoenix) and a mayor (Pascal) as they lock horns over Covid restrictions, Black Lives Matter protests, and other hot button issues. The film is directed by Ari Aster, so if you’re familiar with his work (Midsommar, Beau is Afraid) you know what kind of anxiety attacks that await you.
Gladiator II (2024)
With his roles in The Mandalorian and The Last of Us, Pedro Pascal basically confirmed his place as modern popular culture’s resident handsome, fatherly protector figure — or, to use an internetism, “Daddy”. In 2024, with Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II, Pascal solidified that reputation with his portrayal of General Acacius, an aging warrior attempting to live in accordance with his moral code in a world of rapidly shifting powers and political uncertainty — and if you liked the first movie or Scott’s recent hit The Last Duel, this is one you’ll want to see.
The film is one of Pascal’s biggest blockbuster appearances so far, and sees him star opposite Paul Mescal, who plays the film’s young protagonist, Lucius. Pascal’s portrayal of Acacius gives the character a heartfelt dose of nuance and idealism, and we discover he is much more than the ruthless warrior we first see on screen.
Materialists (2025)
Fans of Celine Song’s beloved debut, Past Lives, will likely be intrigued to see this unusual followup in which Pascal plays the wealthier of high-end matchmaker Lucy’s (Dakota Johnson) two potential love interests — the other is played by fellow MCU alum Chris Evans.
Studio A24 marketed Materialists as a new kind of rom-com, but it’s a much stranger film than even that — think less Pretty Woman and more Closer. In comparison to the other roles on this list, Materialists puts Pascal in a muted performance that suits the tone of this unique love story.
Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025)
Pascal’s third big moment in 2025 came with his wonderful introduction into the MCU in Matt Shakman’s still underappreciated The Fantastic 4: First Steps. This is a Marvel film that takes place in a multiversal world that looks a bit like our own in the 1950s, but with that nice retro-futurist feel of the original Jack Kirby comics and movies like Brad Bird’s The Incredibles. The story follows Marvel’s first family, led by Pascal’s Reed Richards and Venessa Kirby’s Sue Storm, as they encounter Galactus and the Silver Surfer for the first time.With Pedro Pascal leading the team, he's poised to be a key character in I. In the role of Reed Richards, he shows great chemistry with the rest of the Fantastic Four, especially Sue Storm's Vanessa Kirby.
The Mandalorian (2019-2023)
He may not show his face very often, but The Mandalorian wouldn't be the same without Pedro Pascal. His undeniable charisma and presence have been more than enough to carry the beloved Star Wars series for three seasons now — and if you like your sci-fi space operas with a Western twist (think A New Hope or Firefly), this is one you’ll want to see.
Next year, Disney and Lucasfilm are set to release The Mandalorian & Grogu, a film that will see Pascal return to play the tenderhearted yet deadly Mandalorian Din Djarin, a lone bounty hunter who decides to risk it all to protect the outrageously adorable Grogu (affectionately known by fans as “Baby Yoda”) through a series of close-shave adventures.
Game of Thrones (2011-2019)
Although Pedro Pascal only appeared in a smattering of Game of Thrones episodes during the show’s fourth season, boy did his portrayal of Oberyn Martel leave an impression on the GoT fandom. From his exuberant skills in both combat and the bedroom to his eye-poppingly memorable fight with The Mountain, Oberyn had a whole lot going for him.
If you’ve still to see the show, imagine a sexier, more violent, and more political Lord of the Rings and you’ll have some idea of what to expect. Outside of the show, it’s kind of a heartening story: a working actor finding fame with a mid-career role that captivated audiences at the time and has remained an enduring fan-favourite a decade later. The performance served as Pascal’s big break, catapulting him to a level of stardom that has only grown since.
Narcos (2015-2017)
In his first big role after Game of Thrones, Pascal starred in one of Netflix’s foundational hit series, Narcos, as real-life DEA agent Javier Peña. Although the series’ main focus — on the rise and fall of the notorious Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar (played by Wagner Moura) — deviated in the third season, Pascal’s Peña remained a constant and appeared in every episode.
His performance highlights Pascal’s ability to portray his characters as equally hardened and affected by what happens around them. If you like well-written and bingeable TV shows about the drug trade (Ozark and Breaking Bad are the obvious comps), you’ll probably like this one, too.
The Last of Us (2023 - )
Given all that Pascal has done for his audience in the last few years, it’s tricky to choose his best performances to date. That said, the work the actor has done so far in playing Joel— a man tasked with bringing Bella Ramsey’s Ellie safely across a zombie-filled post-apocalyptic United States—in The Last of Us is kind of hard to argue with. The rough complexity that the actor gives to Joel has made him one of the most admired and compelling characters on television.
The acclaimed series—which was developed by Chernobyl creator Craig Mazin and based on Naughty Dog’s hugely influential video games, which were also influenced by films like The Road—takes us into a bleak, dystopian world in which a fungus has infected over half the world’s population, turning them into zombie-like creatures. Despite the many iconic roles on this list, I think this stands out as his best performance to date.
