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