Pedro Pascal: Net worth, salary and career of The Last of Us star

Pedro Pascal net worth

Pedro Pascal is practically everywhere, be it in acclaimed TV shows or big-budget movies. He is winning hearts playing ‘fatherly’ roles on the small screen and plaudits with ground-breaking roles on the big screen. Owing to his prolific output in the last few years, Pedro Pascal has been amassing a pretty decent net worth.

The Chilean-American actor has become a household name, primarily because of the titular character in the Disney+ series The Mandalorian where, interestingly, he had to show his face behind the helmet only three times across three seasons.

That, in a way, cements his stellar reputation as an outstanding performer — even though fans know that he proved his versatility and charisma long back with the epic HBO series Game of Thrones (2011–2019) that established the careers of several top stars today.

Pedro Pascal: Movies, TV shows, salary and net worth

Early life and career

Image credit: Pedro Pascal/@pascalispunk/Instagram

Pedro Pascal was born José Pedro Balmaceda Pascal on 2 April 1975 in Santiago, Chile. He comes from two politically influential families of the country — the Allende family and the Balmaceda family. This connection was both a legacy and a cause of a problem for his family.

His father, fertility doctor José Pedro Balmaceda Riera, is a member of the Balmaceda family, whose most famous name was José Manuel Balmaceda Fernández, the President of Chile from 1886 to 1891.

Pascal is connected to the Allende family through his mother and child psychologist Verónica Pascal Ureta. His mother’s cousin was Andrés Pascal Allende — a leader of the militant organisation Movement of the Revolutionary Left and nephew of immensely popular socialist Salvador Allende, the President of Chile from 1970 to 1973.

His parents opposed the dictatorial regime of Chilean President Augusto Pinochet. Thus, they were forced to flee their country and settle in the US when Pascal was still an infant.

The family spent some years in Texas, before moving to California. Pascal took to acting while in California, starting with his enrollment in Orange County School of the Arts in Santa Ana. In 1997, he graduated from New York University (NYU).

His parents and two of his siblings returned to Chile in 1995. Pascal was 24 years old when he lost his mother in 2000. He remains very close to the rest of his family, especially his father.

Acting career before Game of Thrones

Image credit: IMDb

Pedro Pascal’s career in movies and TV can be divided into two periods: ‘before Game of Thrones’ and ‘after Game of Thrones.’

He made his television debut in 1999 with the American supernatural comedy Good vs. Evil (also known as G vs E). He appeared in several shows the same year, including Buffy the Vampire Slayer in which he played Eddie in the episode titled “The Freshman.”

Television was where Pascal began establishing a footing. Though he appeared in notable shows as a guest, the progress was slow and didn’t bring him much recognition at the time.

His early TV shows include NYPD Blue (2001), Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2006) and several other Law & Order appearances, Without a Trace (2006), The Good Wife (2009–2011), Lights Out (2011), Charlie’s Angels (2011), CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2012), Red Widow (2013), Homeland (2013), Graceland (2013–2014) and The Mentalist (2014).

During this period, he also appeared in films such as Hermanas (2005), which marked his feature-length debut, and The Adjustment Bureau (2011). While working in both films and TV, Pascal also performed on the stage in pivotal roles in plays such as Ghosts (2003), Anna in the Tropics (2004), Hamlet (2005) and Some Men (2007).

Commenting on his early years as an actor, which were mostly stereotypical Latino roles, including those in Law & Order episodes, Pascal told Variety in 2020 that he was “willing to do absolutely anything to work more.”

“If people felt confused by who they were looking at in the casting room because his first name was Pedro, then I’ll change that. It didn’t work,” he said.

Stardom as ‘The Viper’ of Game of Thrones

Image credit: IMDb

By this time, Game of Thrones had taken the world by storm. Following its premiere in 2011, the series was created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss for HBO and was the toast of the entertainment world. Pascal joined the show for its fourth season, which aired in 2014. He played Oberyn “The Viper” Martell, the notorious younger brother of Doran Martell from the desert kingdom of Dorne on the continent of Westeros.

The character made its first appearance in the first episode. Pascal’s performance quickly made both the character and the actor immensely popular with fans of the show. His final appearance was in the eighth episode of the show, titled “The Mountain and the Viper,” referring to the trial by combat between his character and that of Gregor “The Mountain” Clegane, played by Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson.

By the time the curtains came down on Pascal’s character, he had established himself as the actor to look out for — a full 15 years since making his television debut.

Career in TV after Game of Thrones

Image credit: Francois Duhamel/Francois Duhamel /Lucasfilm Ltd. – ©: 2020 Lucasfilm Ltd ™, All Rights Reserved/IMDb

The Netflix series Narcos (2015–2017) was the next big TV show of Pedro Pascal. The first two seasons of the show are about the rise and fall of Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar and the Medellín Cartel. The third season focuses on the Cali Cartel.

Pascal played the real-life American Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) officer Javier Peña in all three seasons, as one of the main characters in the first two and the lead in the third. Peña was instrumental in the investigation of Escobar and the Medellín Cartel.

Pascal’s most iconic role to date on TV has been Din Djarin, aka The Mandalorian, in the show of the same name. It premiered in 2019 and has had three seasons to date, with more on the way. Part of the Star Wars universe, the show is widely hailed as one of the greatest stories in the franchise.

Set five years after the events of Return of the Jedi (1983), the critically acclaimed show tells the story of a wandering bounty hunter who comes across a Force-sensitive child of the species to which Yoda belonged. For fans of the franchise, the fatherly relationship that Pascal’s character establishes with the child, later named Grogu, is the highlight of the series.

Pascal reprised his character from The Mandalorian in the interconnected spin-off series The Book of Boba Fett (2022). For both fans and critics, it was Pascal’s character, who was a guest in three episodes, that was the saving grace in the otherwise lacklustre spin-off.

The actor garnered more fame with the HBO series The Last of Us (2023–present). Based on the video game franchise of the same name developed by Naughty Dog, the American post-apocalyptic drama has received plaudits from critics and accolades at awards shows.

Image credit: IMDb

Pascal received Primetime Emmy and Golden Globe nominations in the best lead actor category at respective awards. His co-star, Bella Ramsey, also received Primetime Emmy and Golden Globe nominations as the lead actress.

His character’s fatherly bonding with the character played by Ramsey, which mirrors that of Din and Grogu’s bonding in The Mandalorian, earned him the internet sobriquet ‘Daddy.’ He is, thus, endearingly referred to by fans as Daddy Pascal, Papi Pascal, or Papi Pedro on social media.

Pedro Pascal in movies since Game of Thrones

Image credit: IMDb

As his fame rose to greater heights with Game of Thrones, Pedro Pascal started getting offers of major roles in significant movies. He has since acted alongside some of the biggest names in international cinema.

The Great Wall (2016) was one of the earliest big-budget movies Pascal starred in. His co-stars in the film were Matt Damon, Willem Dafoe, Jing Tian and Andy Lau, the last two of whom are top names in Chinese dramas and movies.

He was part of the huge ensemble cast of Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017), which has Colin Firth, Taron Egerton, Mark Strong, Sophie Cookson, Edward Holcroft, Hanna Alström, Julianne Moore, Halle Berry, Elton John, Channing Tatum and Jeff Bridges with Pascal in pivotal roles.

The Equalizer 2 (2018) with Denzel Washington, Triple Frontier (2019) with Ben Affleck and Oscar Isaac, and The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (2022) with Nicholas Cage are some of his best-known films. He also played Maxwell Lord, the main antagonist in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) film Wonder Woman 1984 (2020).

As of January 2024, Pascal has been garnering rave reviews for his lead role in Freaky Tales. Set in Oakland, California, in 1987, the horror-thriller-comedy was the opening film at the Sundance Film Festival.

The movie, written and directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, also stars Ben Mendelsohn, Jay Ellis, Dominique Thorne, Jack Champion, Ji-Young Yoo, Tom Hanks and Normani. It also marks one of the last appearances of actor Angus Cloud of Euphoria fame, who passed away in July 2023.

Image credit: IMDb

Pedro Pascal is set to appear in two more movies in 2024. The first is Drive-Away Dolls by Ethan Coen, which sees Pascal reunite with Matt Damon on the screen. The second is Gladiator 2, one of the most-anticipated films of the year. Directed by Ridley Scott, it is the sequel to the Oscar-winning Gladiator (2000).

Reports suggest that he might also play the role of Reed Richards in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film Fantastic Four. If it indeed happens, it would mark Pascal’s first appearance in the MCU — a global box office juggernaut among franchises. Although filming hasn’t yet started, Fantastic Four is expected to release on 2 May 2025 under the current plan of the MCU.

What is the net worth of Pedro Pascal?

According to celebrity wealth tracker, Celebrity Net Worth, the net worth of Pedro Pascal is around USD 10 million, based on his earnings from movies and TV shows. This doesn’t sound much, but it needs to be noted that there is practically no information about his income from the days before Game of Thrones. Even his current salary and other earnings are not as widely known, despite the massive spike in his profile.

The only estimate of his salary comes from a 2021 report by Variety about his pay for The Last of Us season 1. According to the report, Pascal was paid USD 600,000 per episode for the show.

The figure was the same that actors Viola Davis, Michelle Pfeiffer and Gillian Anderson received for The First Lady and Steve Martin and Martin Short received for Only Murders in the Building in the period under consideration by Variety. Together, they were the joint eighth-highest-paid actors on TV for 2021.

Technically, therefore, Pascal earned USD 5.4 million for the nine-episode season 1. Given that the first season has received phenomenal critical appreciation as well as praise from fans of the original video game, it is expected that Pascal’s pay could be more for season 2 of the series.

As for The Mandalorian, there is no clarity on his pay even though the series is part of a franchise whose movies alone have earned a total of USD 10.3 billion at the worldwide box office. The figure is close to USD 50 billion when elements such as merchandise sales, home video and TV revenue are taken into consideration.

Some reports, however, suggest that Pascal asked for a pay raise for The Mandalorian season 3. Gina Carano, who was fired from the show after season 1, later revealed that she earned around USD 25,000 to USD 50,000 per episode. Carano wasn’t the lead and is a former mixed-martial arts champion, which means she isn’t an actor in the traditional sense as Pascal. Based on this, it can be assumed that Pascal received much more than Carano for season 1.

As for his assets, nothing much is known of what Pascal owns as property. He doesn’t seem to be having too many flashy cars in his garage like several other celebrities do. However, Pascal has been seen driving around Los Angeles in at least two cars: a Mercedes-Benz CLK and a Mercedes G63 AMG.

Social media and other details of his personal life

Image credit: Pedro Pascal/@pascalispunk/Instagram

Pedro Pascal is quite active on social media, especially Instagram, where he has a following of over 8 million. He shares snippets of his daily life and behind-the-scenes moments from the sets. He is known for being a strong supporter of LGBTQ+ and other civil rights.

Pascal is also very open about his political views. He was in the news in 2021 for supporting Left-wing Social Convergence party leader Gabriel Boric in that year’s Chilean general election. Boric won the election to become the youngest president in Chilean history.

His social media also shows how close he is to his family members. One of his most recent posts shows Pascal accompanied by his sister, American-born Chilean actress and transgender activist Lux, to the 2024 Primetime Emmy Awards.

Pascal is not married but has been the subject of dating rumours.

(Hero image: IMDb; Featured image: Pedro Pascal/@pascalispunk/Instagram)

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

– How much does Pedro Pascal make per episode in his shows?

There is no information on how much he received for his shows and movies, but Pedro Pascal was paid USD 600,000 per episode for the first season of The Last of Us.

– What car does Pedro Pascal own?

Pedro Pascal has been seen driving around in Mercedes cars, including a Mercedes-Benz CLK and a Mercedes G63 AMG.

– Does Pedro Pascal have a wife and kids?

No, Pedro Pascal is unmarried and has no children.

– Has Pedro Pascal been in Marvel Cinematic Universe?

No, Pedro Pascal has not yet become part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.