Pedro Pascal’s Nephews Convinced Him to Take This Role
The new HBO series The Last of Us is an unusual creation: an adaptation of a much-loved video game that has earned an enthusiastic response from the gamers who loved it first. Pedro Pascal plays Joel, one of the main characters, and viewers largely agree that he’s perfect for the role (although some were worried before the show debuted that his beard would be lacking). But although he’s embraced the part, it turns out he wasn’t sure about it at first, and he needed some experts to talk him into taking it.
The game that led to the series
The Last of Us started as a video game in 2013. According to The New York Times, it was based on the chilling story of a pandemic. Instead of a virus, people battled a fungus, which took control of the people it infected. They became violent zombies, and society quickly fell apart.
Now HBO is bringing the game’s rich storyline to life in a series. Like the game, the show focuses on Joel, a smuggler, and Ellie (played by Bella Ramsey), a 14-year-old girl. Joel is tasked with taking Ellie from Boston to a secret location out west. She seems to have immunity to the fungus and may be the key to creating a vaccine that will save humanity.
Along the way, the pair develop a father/daughter bond as they face seemingly endless dangers.
Pedro Pascal needed input about taking the role
According to an interview he did with BBC Radio 1, Pascal was familiar with Craig Mazin, who is the co-creator of the series. And he was a big fan.
“I would have, I don’t know, murdered somebody to work with Craig, I suppose,” Pascal said. So when he was approached about doing the series, he read the script for the adaptation. Then he sought out advice from some important experts.
“That day I spoke to my sister, who was driving my nephews, her children, her teenage boys to school, and I said, ‘There’s this job opportunity. It’s actually based on a video game.'” His sister didn’t seem very interested, but as he continued, he got a different reaction from his nephews.
“And I said, ‘It’s called The L-‘ and I didn’t even get the AST of the word LAST and my nephews were like ‘The Last of Us?! You have to do it! You have to do it! You have to get this job!'”
Viewers seem to agree with his nephews
Fortunately, he did get the job. Hardcore gamers are notoriously touchy about adaptations of their favorite games. But according to GamesRadar, their reactions to the series version of The Last of Us has been largely positive from the start.
“The Last Of Us is cementing my utter hatred for Hollywood ‘telling new stories in familiar worlds.’ TLOU is so good, so faithful, and the changes all make sense. See? Just adapt the source material. Faithfully,” one fan tweeted. “Fill in / tweak where NEEDED, not for ego reasons.”
“Just watched the first ep of Last of Us. It’s so good. Pedro Pascal is such a good actor in his own right, but here, he just is Joel. I don’t see Pedro. I see Joel. I can already tell how good the rest is going to be,” another agreed.
The Last of Us seems to be the video game adaptation fans have been waiting for. Fortunately for Pascal, he had some expert advice when he was deciding whether to take the role.
