Buffy the Vampire Slayer
One of Pedro Pascal's earliest TV appearances was on the season four premiere of Buffy the Vampire Slayer back in 1999. He played Eddie, a charming college freshman who befriends Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) on the UC Sunnydale campus, but is later turned into a vampire and ends up being staked by the Slayer.
In 2024, Pascal told Entertainment Tonight that he credits this role with keeping him in the acting biz: "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.”
NYPD Blue
He popped up in an episode of NYPD Blue in 2001, playing a goth named Dio and credited as Alexander Pascal. The part required some fake piercings, a pentagram on his palm and some satanic language, and Pascal once described Dio on "Hot Ones" as a "really, really unusually fun character."
The Good Wife
In 2009, Pascal nabbed his first major recurring TV role in The Good Wife, playing arrogant attorney Nathan Landry across six episodes.
Game of Thrones
It was Pascal's epic seven-episode run as Prince Oberyn Martell on HBO's juggernaut fantasy drama that first thrust him into the pop culture limelight in 2014. His season four arc ended in a tragic, eye-popping death courtesy of the Mountain, but the Red Viper is still remembered as one of the coolest characters from the hit series.
The Mentalist
The Chilean-born actor joined CBS crime procedural The Mentalist in 2014 as Agent Marcus Pike. His seven-episode storyline included becoming a love interest for Robin Tunney's Teresa Lisbon.
Narcos
In 2015, Pascal scored his first series regular role and struck streaming gold with the Netflix series Narcos. Pascal played Javier Peña, the real-life Drug Enforcement Administration agent who investigated Pablo Escobar and the Medellín Cartel.
Triple Frontier
He teamed up with Ben Affleck, Charlie Hunnam, Oscar Isaac and Garrett Hedlund for this 2019 Netflix action movie about five former special forces operatives who reunite to take down a South American drug lord.
The Mandalorian
As the first live-action series in the Star Wars franchise, The Mandalorian was an instant hit. Pascal played the bounty hunter Din Djarin (he provided the voice but wasn't always in Mando's suit) who becomes a reluctant father figure to Grogu (a.k.a. Baby Yoda).
Speaking to Variety about wearing the Mandalorian armor, Pascal explained, "When it’s on, you immediately feel powerful, dangerous and like a protector... but it’s like going blind... If there’s a hole, I’m gonna fall into it."
Wonder Woman 1984
Despite it's less than stellar reception, 2020's Wonder Woman sequel allowed Pascal to shine as sleazy businessman villain, Maxwell Lord.
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent
Pascal delivered a critically acclaimed turn in this 2022 comedic crime caper, starring as a billionaire playboy opposite Nicolas Cage (who plays a fictionalized version of himself).
The Last of Us
In 2023, he took on a lead role in HBO's highly anticipated adaptation of The Last of Us, based on the beloved video game. His performance as Joel Miller opposite Bella Ramsey's Ellie saw him nominated for an Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award (which he won).
And of course, his character's (spoiler alert!) heartbreaking and brutal death in the second season sent shockwaves across the internet.
The Wild Robot
In a refreshing detour from some of his more serious roles, Pascal provided a voice for 2024's animated (and Oscar-nominated!) family movie, The Wild Robot. He plays Fink, a sly fox who befriends the titular robot when she is abandoned on a remote island.
Gladiator II
He joined an all-star ensemble in director Ridley's Scott's 2024 Gladiator sequel, starring alongside Paul Mescal, Denzel Washington and Connie Nielsen.
Materialists
Pascal completes an impossibly charming trio of actors in this 2025 rom-com that follows an ambitious New York City matchmaker (Dakota Johnson) who finds herself torn between the perfect match (Pascal) and her imperfect ex (Chris Evans).
Eddington
In director Ari Aster's (Hereditary, Midsommar) upcoming social satire, Pascal and Joaquin Phoenix star as a mayor and sheriff who clash as their small town navigates the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.