Pedro Pascal nearly quit acting due to constant rejection

Pedro Pascal has admitted that he nearly quit his acting career after experiencing years of rejection.

• READ MORE: Soundtrack Of My Life: Pedro Pascal

In a new interview, the 48-year-old provided insight into his constant struggle to make a living as an actor, and explained how he was close to calling it quits before acquiring some of his biggest roles.

“I was getting my ass fucking kicked,” he told Esquire, discussing his time working as a waiter throughout the 1990s. At the time, he auditioned for numerous TV show roles and commercials, although few materialised.

“I died so many deaths,” he added. “I guess [this] delusional self-determination, and no real skill at anything else, is what kept me going.”

In the interview, American Horror Story actress and close friend, Sarah Paulson, also explained how she supported Pascal while he struggled to make a name for himself. “There were times when I would give him my per diem from a job I was working on so that he could have money to feed himself,” she said.

According to the actor, he put a time limit on his efforts, and was contemplating quitting the industry if he hadn’t found a breakthrough role by the end of his 20s.

“My vision of it was that if I didn’t have some major exposure by the time I was 29 years old, it was over, so I was constantly readjusting what it meant to commit my life to this profession and giving up the idea of it looking like I thought it would when I was a kid,” he said.

“I had a moment of thinking, ‘You’re in your forties and you don’t own a home? Grow up’… There were so many good reasons to let that delusion go.”

Currently, the Chilean-born actor is one of the biggest names in Hollywood and starring in two hit TV shows: The Mandalorian and The Last Of Us. He also appeared in the fourth season of Game Of Thrones as the character of Oberyn Martell, and starred alongside Nicholas Cage in the 2022 film, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.

Elsewhere, Craig Mazin, the executive producer of The Last of Us, explained that the actor achieved his eventual success due to his determination. “This was not somebody Hollywood sweated to make a star,” he said.

“They didn’t keep him out, but they didn’t drag him along, either; they just sat there with their arms crossed. And he fought all the way, and every single time, he connected.”

In other Pedro Pascal news, earlier this week Jack Black confirmed that he wants the actor to play Wario in a Super Mario Bros. Movie sequel. Currently, Black is promoting the new film, in which he plays Bowser.

“You know, what if there is a more powerful, more evil villain [in the next film],” he asked. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking? Wario. Pedro Pascal is Wario.”

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