5 little-known facts about Pedro Pascal in Star Wars

If there’s one thing that all Star Wars fans can agree on, it’s that Pedro Pascal and his work playing the leading role on The Mandalorian is one of the best things to come out of the Star Wars universe since it was acquired by Disney in 2012. Other than playing blaster-wielding single dad Din Djarin, Pascal is known for his roles on other well-known TV shows and movies, such as Game of Thrones, Narcos and Wonder Woman 1984. Other than his characters on the small and silver screens, what do we really know about Pascal?

So, here are five facts you may not have known about Pedro Pascal in Star Wars.

1. He thought he was playing Boba Fett

After being cast in 2018 in a new Star Wars project, (which we all now know is The Mandalorian) Pascal originally thought he would be playing the fan-favorite character of Boba Fett. Pascal said the following in a 2019 interview with ComicBook.com about his realization regarding who he would be playing:

"I wanted to meet Jon Favreau. I didn’t care what he wanted me to do… So we met in Jon’s office, which was covered with story illustrations from this show — and I noticed the Mandalorian, a Boba Fett-looking character, immediately.I thought to myself, “Oh, it’s amazing that they are finally gonna get into this character.” Jon talked about the story, visuals, and tone.I thought it was amazing and finally asked, “Well, who am I?” I’m pointing to different characters, creatures, and aliens in the concept art, and John just looked at me and said, “You’re the Mandalorian.” I was like, “WHAT? I get to play Boba Fett?”He said, “No, he’s not Boba Fett. He’s the Mandalorian.” I couldn’t have imagined a better moment.”"

2. On-set injury

Back when he was filming season 1 of The Mandalorian, star Pedro Pascal got injured while shooting the season finale and had to get seven stitches to his nose and face. While you may think this would have happened during a stunt-gone-wrong, it was actually off-set that the incident occurred. Pascal was walking out of the hair and makeup trailer and was distracted by looking at his script when he walked into a piece of plywood.

After going to the hospital to get his stitches, he returned to set to film the scene where Mando takes off his helmet in front of IG-11 to help heal him. So, the next time you re-watch that scene, see if you can tell where the fake blood ends and where his real stitches begin.

3. A Star Wars fan from birth

Pascal was excited to star in a new Star Wars show not only because of the success it could bring, but because he is a huge fan of the films himself since he was a child. Speaking to Shortlist about branching into the Star Wars universe, he said:

"When I met Jon for the first time, the very first question that he asked me was, “Are you a Star Wars fan?” I told him that I didn’t really have a choice – I was born in 1975! The first movie came out when I was very young. The culture of it was just so much a part of my childhood; it shaped exactly what sci-fi cinema is to that whole generation.So, to actually be placed in a world that lived so powerfully in your childhood’s imagination was very surreal. It’s hard to describe. By looking into the mirror, or stepping onto one of those sets, it’s sort of like when you’re a kid and you go to an amusement park for the first time, and all of a sudden, it seems like there aren’t really limits to the adventures that you can go on. It was weird as an aging 40-something actor to feel like a seven-year-old again, by stepping onto that set or putting on that costume. It was a very strange feeling."

4. His favorite co-star isn’t Baby Yoda

One might think that Pascal’s favorite person to work with on The Mandalorian might be his adopted son (the puppet Grogu) or veteran actor Carl Weathers. Instead, Pascal says his favorite person to work with onset is recurring co-star, Amy Sedaris, who we have seen in two episodes, playing Peli Motto, a Tatooine mechanic who takes a liking to Baby Yoda. Pascal describes the fun he has on set with Sedaris in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, stating:

"I followed Amy Sedaris around like a puppy. [I was] like, “Hey again. I’m not leaving your side until you wrap,” and she’s like, “Cool.”I love the Child — it really is adorable — and it is so fascinating to see it work, but somebody who makes you spit-laugh right into your helmet will always be my favorite thing."

5. He has no plans to leave the franchise

Last year, rumors surfaced that Pascal wanted to leave the show due to a lack of screen time showing his face. As you may or may not know, a lot of the physical acting and stunts for the character of Mando is done by other actors, with Pascal recording his lines in post-production because the character is almost always masked by his helmet.

Fans began to worry that he wanted to leave the show, especially when Pascal signed on to star in a new HBO show, The Last of Us. Thankfully, Deadline reported that he has no plans to leave The Mandalorian, and we can look forward to him playing Mando on our screens for hopefully many seasons to come.

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