Pedro Pascal Reveals What Happened During Chaotic ‘SNL’ Skit: ‘Bowen Started it’
Pedro Pascal is having a moment and the perfect marker for his success is how great his turn as host of Saturday Night Live went. The longtime film and TV character actor is in full leading man mode these days. And even though one of his biggest projects hides his face from viewers, his obvious charisma is the talk of Hollywood.
There were plenty of great moments on his episode of SNL. There were great parodies of his own projects that had viral success on social media. The best segment, though, might be the one that went the furthest off the rails.
Pedro Pascal crushed it hosting on ‘Saturday Night Live’
Pascal’s hosting duties kicked of strongly, with one of the better monologues at the top of SNL this year according to The Huffington Post. A lot of it was lighthearted fun, but he wrapped up with an impassioned pro-immigration plea to the nation. Then, he spoke directly to his Chilean family in Spanish, before translating to English: “I love you, I miss you — and stop giving out my phone number!”
The pre-shot segments were some of the best bits, including a hilarious trailer for a Mario Kart film with the ultra serious tone of Pascal’s series The Last of Us. Other highlights were the Mandalorian actor playing a latina mom, and “The Big Hollywood Quiz,” a quiz show where all the participants have instant recall of movies and films from throughout the history of the medium. And then they start drawing a blank when it comes to the hazy content flood of 2020 and on.
Pascal did a fantastic job keeping up with the regular SNL cast, and didn’t seem to need much carrying by the series veterans as some first-time hosts do. The easy charisma he displayed in roles like Oberyn Martell on Game of Thrones served him well under the high-pressure environment of SNL.
One sketch went wildly off the rails during Pedro Pascal’s episode
Outside of the Mario Kart bit, the “Lisa from Temecula” sketch got much of the attention on social media. This was one of those absurdist sketches that often gets cut for time, only to appear later on shows from SNL alums like The Kids in the Hall or I Think You Should Leave. When they do make the cut on SNL itself, they tend to divide viewers.
With Pascal, the baffling sketch was a hit. The premise is as simple as it is funny: a group of friends gets dinner together. One orders an extra well-done steak. And when that thing arrives, she has to vigorously saw through it while pretending nothing is wrong.
Pascal spent much of the sketch visibly busting up at the ridiculousness unfolding in front of him. But, in an interview posted to the Late Night with Seth Meyers YouTube channel, he deflects the blame a little.
“Bowen [Yang] started it. Yeah,” the Narcos actor said with a grin. Meyers notes that Yang is known for never breaking, and that Pascal may be throwing him under the bus. “Sorry, Bowen,” Pascal concluded.
Pedro Pascal is having an incredible 2023
Pascal’s comedic break with SNL bought him a weekend away from the attention staying on his two current TV projects. The Mandalorian just returned for another season. The series returns to the familiar format of Pascal as the titular, stoic Mandalorian, taking care of Grogu — better known as “Baby Yoda” to fans.
The Last of Us has a similar basic premise: another riff on that older man protects a younger, increasingly capable partner. But the similarities end there, as the show goes for a much more grounded and bleak tone for its post-apocalyptic tale. Both series are critical favorites at the moment, and ComicBook.com reports that the ending might be a big — and controversial — pop culture moment when the series wraps up this spring.
