‘The Mandalorian’ Star Pedro Pascal Reveals the Physical Challenges of His Costume
Pedro Pascal has the lead role on The Mandalorian, but Mando’s bounty hunter code requires the actor to remain masked in his signature helmet and armor. In a recent interview, Pascal revealed the physical challenges of working in the restrictive costume.
Why the Mandalorian never takes off his helmet
During the first season of The Mandalorian, fans were waiting to see Mando take off his helmet and reveal his face. But, as the Armorer (Emily Swallow) reveals in her conversation with him in Episode 3, the bounty hunter follows a strict code that requires him to keep his face concealed.
“When one chooses to walk the way of the Mandalore, he is both hunter and prey,” she says. “How can one be a coward if one chooses this way of life? Have you ever removed you helmet? Has it ever been removed by others?”
Mando answers no to both of her questions about the helmet, to which she responds, “This is the way.” Then, in Episode 4, Mando reveals that he does take it off to eat, but never in front of anyone else. When Cara Dune (Gina Carano) asks him what would happen if he did take it off in front of someone, he tells her he would never be able to “put it back on again.”
Pedro Pascal reveals the physical challenges of being in costume
Pascal recently joined Joel McHale and Ken Jeong on their Darkest Timeline Podcast. While he couldn’t go into too much detail about Season 2, The Mandalorian star did admit that putting on Mando’s armor requires a lot of thought, but can also feel immersive.
“Shooting stuff like that is so technical and it can really take a while,” said Pascal. “To be honest, without giving any of it away, there was more that I did in Season 2. And to basically be able to know, that it’s a gesture of the head, of a posture…you can get right into what you’re doing and believing the world you’re in…a serious kid fantasy playtime kind of thing.”
But Pascal also revealed that the constraints of continuously wearing a helmet can be challenging. And he joked about sometimes feeling like he needs an “MRI.”
“I can’t really see and at times you can’t breathe,” said Pascal. “And you know, if they want to hear, if they want to catch your dialogue, it’s like one big mic pack that’s right by your skull inside the thing. And when you take it on and off many times in one day, there’s a constant sort of rub.”
“You know there’s a physical aspect of it,” he continued. “And it’s fascinating to be under the kind of physical stress, which I think [for] so many actors that’s a part of it. But to go into such a complete version of that experience, it was challenging.”
Pedro Pascal isn’t the only one under the Mandalorian helmet
On The Mandalorian, Pascal voices the character and plays him in most of the show’s scenes. But he isn’t the only one wearing the helmet. Bryce Dallas Howard, who directed Episode 4, admitted that she never worked with Pascal on set because there were actually two stunt doubles — Brendan Wayne and Lateef Crowder — that played Mando for the episode.
In an interview with Vulture, Wayne revealed that he worked on every episode of the first season, and will also be in Season 2. The actor also explained that he works closely with Pascal on set to coordinate Mando’s movements.
“We would go back and forth,” said Wayne. “The great thing about him is he’s not impressed with himself. He’s just an actor. And I mean that in the good way, not the bad way. He likes to learn and he likes to collaborate and he’s very good at it.”
Details about Season 2 are scarce. But fans are hoping to finally see Pascal’s face emerge from under the helmet when The Mandalorian returns to Disney+ in November.
