Pedro Pascal’s 10 Best TV Characters (Number 1 Is Undisputed)

Pedro Pascal is one of the biggest stars of the 2020s, with many enormous projects in both movies and TV shows cementing him as a standout actor of his generation. Beginning with guest appearances and cameos, and eventually starring in some of the most popular series of the past few years, Pascal is beloved because of his onscreen charisma and undeniable talent.

Though Pascal has made his mark on cinema as well, with his critically acclaimed A24 movie Materialists, and upcoming performance in the new take on The Fantastic Four: First Steps, he has deep roots in television. Like many celebrities, Pascal got his start playing bit parts in procedurals and network dramas, slowly moving up the ranks of the TV world.

His breakout roles have come to define him as an actor, even though most audiences now associate Pascal with Joel in The Last of Us. However, Pascal was cast as Joel because he proved with his early work that he has the ability to carry such a popular and dramatic story, and this can be seen in all of his past television roles.

10

Eddie

Buffy The Vampire Slayer (1997–2003)

Pascal’s role in Buffy The Vampire Slayer is small but memorable, and the actor has credited landing the part with helping to keep him in Hollywood and not giving up on his dream. While this is great news on its own, as Pascal has become a huge part of many franchises besides Buffy, it’s also fun to look back on the actor’s early work.

Appearing in the Buffy The Vampire Slayer season 4 episode “The Freshman,” Pascal plays Eddie, a young student Buffy meets on campus who is tragically killed and made into a vampire. However, before this, he and Buffy share a poignant conversation about how difficult the transition from high school to college is, as the episode revolves around Buffy’s growing pains in this arena.

Though Eddie turns out to be yet another vampire Buffy has to slay, their interactions touch upon the key themes of the episode and season 4 as a whole. The difference between high school and college and the changes Buffy has to make to adapt to her new environment are significant, making Eddie a character whose impact goes beyond his brief time onscreen.

9

Omar Assarian

Lights Out (2011)

For four episodes of the series Lights Out, Pascal portrayed Omar Assarian, a tough but overly-confident boxer. The show follows a veteran boxer looking to make a comeback, but of course, times have changed, and newcomers like Pascal’s Assarian are everywhere. Though it seems that Light, the lead character, will help Assarian win big, their relationship becomes more complex.

Pascal isn’t the only familiar face that audiences will see in Lights Out, as the series is led by a young Holt McCallany. McCallany recently rose to prominence for his starring role in the acclaimed Netflix show Mindhunter, which audiences are still hoping will return for an additional season one day. He and Pascal both went on to great things after Lights Out concluded.

While Pascal’s character, Assarian, is a young upstart looking to make his name in the boxing arena, McCallany plays the title character, Patrick “Lights” Leary, who eventually makes his return to the ring. Seeing Pascal and McCallany work together throughout the show is one of the best parts of the series, especially considering where they would go after it ended.

Lights Out

Release Date

2011 – 2011-00-00

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  Holt McCallany

  Patrick ‘Lights’ Leary

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  Pablo Schreiber

  Johnny Leary

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  Catherine McCormack

  Theresa Leary

8

Nathan Landry

The Good Wife (2009–2016)

Throughout his career, Pascal has played everything from DEA agents to fantastical princes, but in The Good Wife, he’s a formidable attorney. Appearing in the first two seasons of this legal procedural with a twist, Pascal strikes an imposing figure in the courtroom, easily making the audience believe he belongs there and making his mark on the acclaimed drama series.

The Good Wife has proven itself to be a popular franchise, with two spinoff TV shows, The Good Fight and Elsbeth, coming out of the original show. While Pascal is only in The Good Wife for a few episodes, the recurring role was enough to make the characters remember him and recall his legal skills.

Nathan isn’t overly important to the overarching plot of The Good Wife, as it’s the protagonist, Alicia, and her climb of the legal ladder that audiences were the most invested in. As part of the state’s attorney’s office, characters like Nathan help flesh out the legal and political world that Alicia returns to, and must fight her way to the top of.

The Good Wife

Release Date

2009 – 2016-00-00

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  Julianna Margulies

  Diane Lockhart

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7

Zach Wellison

Brothers & Sisters (2006–2011)

Though it’s been largely forgotten about, the family drama Brothers & Sisters was a reasonably successful series from 2006 to 2011. Like many shows of its era, Brothers & Sisters features many great celebrities who performed guest or recurring appearances before they were famous, including Pascal. His role as Zach Wellison sees him grapple with his character’s past as a Marine.

Pascal is far from the only skilled performer who lends his talents to Brothers & Sisters, as the series also includes the work of Sally Field, Calista Flockhart, and Matthew Rhys. Primarily chronicling the lives of the Walker family, Brothers & Sisters aired for five seasons and touched upon many serious contemporary themes, including PTSD, which came into play in Zach’s storyline.

Zach joins the cast for a brief time in season 5, meeting Justin (Dave Annable), who’s also a veteran. Though Pascal wasn’t on the show for long, even in these smaller roles, he made his mark. In some ways, Zach is a precursor to some of Pascal’s more serious, gruff roles to come, like Joel in The Last of Us.

Brothers & Sisters

Release Date

2006 – 2011-00-00

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  Dave Annable

  Justin Walker

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  Rachel Griffiths

  Sarah Walker

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6

Juan Badillo

Graceland (2013–2015)

Though he’s primarily featured in just season 1, Pascal is as fun to watch as always in the crime drama Graceland. Like most actors, Pascal spent a good portion of his early career working in procedurals and in smaller recurring roles in dramas like Graceland, which followed the investigations of a group of agents from different organizations. Pascal’s Juan Badillo is a member of the FBI.

Though Graceland unfolds a lot like other similar procedurals, it’s fun to see what Pascal does with his character within these limitations. Most of the tension in Graceland comes from the agents going undercover and trying to protect their identities, but Juan has another mission that sees him get into some trouble in the show.

Watching the young Pascal distinguish himself next to the strong cast of Graceland is reason enough to tune into the short-lived procedural drama. His chemistry with the rest of the ensemble is evident, and Juan’s storyline connects to the larger narrative arcs of the series. Fans of the actor won’t have trouble seeing why audiences loved watching him in Graceland.

graceland

Release Date

2013 – 2015-00-00

Network

USA Network

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  Christopher Redman

  Whistler

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  Daniel Sunjata

  Paul Briggs

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5

Marcus Pike

The Mentalist (2008–2015)

It’s not hard to imagine why Pascal was cast as a potential love interest in The Mentalist, who rivaled the main lead of the show in terms of chemistry with their shared love interest. Simon Baker and Robin Tunney led The Mentalist as Patrick Jane and Teresa Lisbon, the central will-they-won’t-they couple, but Pascal’s Marcus believably came between them.

The Mentalist is an underrated 2000s procedural TV show, as it adhered to the tropes of the genre but featured many great performers like Pascal. Marcus was a good match for Lisbon, and he added fun tension and intrigue to the show, making the audience want to know more about this new man.

Though it’s been argued that Pascal’s character deserved a better ending in The Mentalist, it was for the best that he left the show, as he went on to star in the most important works of his career. Additionally, there was little chance that Lisbon would ever choose someone other than Jane to be with in the series.

4

Javier Peña

Narcos (2015–2017)

Netflix’s short-lived but impactful crime drama TV show, Narcos, might have introduced many viewers to Pascal in the wake of his time on Game of Thrones. Co-leading the cast of Narcos as the DEA agent Javier Peña, Pascal’s character doesn’t always play by the rules in his quest to bring down the notorious drug kingpin, Pablo Escobar.

Related

Pedro Pascal’s Forgotten Crime Show With 89% On RT Is Still A Must-Watch A Decade Later

10 years later, Pedro Pascal’s gritty Netflix series Narcos still holds up, and it’s still one of the greatest crime TV shows ever made.

Though Peña is far from the most corrupt individual on the show, he’s capable of plenty of violence and morally dubious behavior, as no one in Narcos is above critique. Since Narcos fictionalizes real historical events, the line can sometimes be blurred between the characters’ stories and reality, which strikes an interesting tone in the performances.

In each season of Narcos, it’s Peña who holds our attention and keeps the audience coming back, even after his conflict with Escobar has wrapped up. Pascal took center stage in season 3, coming into his own on the series and proving that he could anchor the drama without the help of the series’ original protagonists and antagonists.

Narcos

Release Date

2015 – 2017-00-00

Showrunner

Chris Brancato

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3

Din Djarin AKA The Mandalorian

The Mandalorian (2019–Present) & The Book Of Boba Fett (2021)

Though we don’t get to see Pascal’s face that much throughout The Mandalorian, his impact is enormous, and the actor does a lot with just his body language. The Mandalorian is considered one of the strongest Star Wars TV shows that Disney+ has put out. Pascal’s character, Din Djarin, is also featured in The Book of Boba Fett, which didn’t earn as much acclaim.

However, in both cases, Din is a standout character, as his harsh demeanor and rough way of living are juxtaposed by his surprisingly tender actions throughout the story. Expectations are always high for new additions to the lore and world-building of a franchise like Star Wars, but The Mandalorian lives up to the best parts of the universe.

Pascal does a lot with his character in The Mandalorian, who is a complex and often morally gray individual. However, this is what makes him so compelling to watch, as he grapples with the strange new world order after the fall of the empire. Though Pascal is limited in his performance due to the character design, he never fails to give his all to Din.

The Mandalorian

8/10

Release Date

2019 – 2023-00-00

Network

Disney+

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  Din Djarin / The Mandalorian

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  Katee Sackhoff

  Bo-Katan Kryze

2

Joel Miller

The Last Of Us (2023–Present)

One of the best video game adaptations of the past few years, The Last of Us works because of Pascal’s leading role as Joel. Though the perspective shifts in the show’s second season, we’re taken on an adventure with Joel throughout season 1 that makes the audience empathize with and love him, even when he’s wrong.

Regardless of how The Last of Us season 2 was received, as it marked a major shift in the story, there’s little question that Pascal’s performance as Joel is the best part of the show. Losing Joel in season 2 was difficult for season 2 to come back from because of how important he is to the story, and how good Pascal is at anchoring the narrative.

While we won’t see Pascal again in season 3, he will continue to haunt Ellie and the other characters in the series, as his actions were the precipitating incident for everything that’s followed since the season 1 finale. There’s been a hole in The Last of Us since Pascal departed, but that doesn’t take away from his lasting impact on the post-apocalyptic series.

1

Oberyn Martell

Game Of Thrones (2011–2019)

When watching a show like Game of Thrones, it’s important never to get too comfortable when falling in love with a character, as they’re easily and suddenly killed off. When Pascal joined the cast of the fantasy series as Oberyn Martell, it catapulted the actor to a new era of fame, as he won the hearts of everyone watching, only to break them not long after that.

Fans of the book series, A Song of Ice and Fire, were well aware of the fate that would befall Oberyn as soon as he was introduced in season 4. However, no one could have predicted the splash that Pascal would make bringing the character to life. He became a fan-favorite character almost instantly.

Though Oberyn isn’t on Game of Thrones for long, he stands out because he’s so charismatic, interesting, and unlike the stuffy, repressed characters that populate the story’s world. His relationship with Tyrion and the duel with Gregor Clegane cement him as a key player in the world, and allow Pedro Pascal to explore the many sides of the complex character.

Game Of Thrones

10/10

Release Date

2011 – 2019-00-00

Showrunner

David Benioff, D.B. Weiss