10 best Pedro Pascal performances, ranked by how hard we fell for them

It is hard to choose Pedro Pascal’s best performance. Whether you are a Marvel fan or a Star Wars fan, you find Pascal displaying his ability to inhabit an array of characters across movies and TV shows.

Over the years, the Chilean-American actor has captivated and impressed the audience with his diverse roles, as an FBI agent, a DEA agent, and, among recent roles, as a gladiator. And then, who would forget the outwardly stoic and tough guardian's act in his latest superhit TV show.

Moreover, mention of Pedro Pascal’s best performances would be incomplete without talking about the comedic timing he has shown in various sketches on SNL — an overprotective mother, a confused patient waking up after a long coma, or a teacher trying to understand his students who create fancams of him. He has made us laugh uncontrollably, too.

Let’s look at Pedro Pascal’s 10 most popular roles, where he displayed his range as an actor and made us fall hard for him.

** Disclaimer: This article is based on the writer’s opinion. Readers' discretion is advised. **

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10 best Pedro Pascal performances

10) Maxwell Lord (Wonder Woman 1984)

In Wonder Woman 1984, Gal Gadot's Diana tries to reverse the effects of the Dreamstone that has created chaos in the world. The shallow and cynical businessman who steals the dreamstone is played by Pedro Pascal. Pascal's Maxwell Lord's unthinkable wish of transforming himself into the dreamstone, which grants one wish to people while taking something from them, is the reason the world turns chaotic.

Although he was an antagonist in the film, Pascal’s portrayal was entertaining, and at the end of the movie, his character also changed for the better for his son, completing the character arc.

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9) Marcus Pike (The Mentalist)

Marcus Pike is one of Pedro Pascal’s best performances, despite limited screen time. The Mentalist is a procedural drama that revolves around Simon Baker’s Patrick Jane, who helps a group of CBI officers solve murder cases using his mind-reading skills.

Pascal’s character, the charismatic Marcus Pike, is an FBI agent and has a recurring role in the sixth and seventh seasons of the series. Even with a short role, the Chilean-American actor impressed fans with the chemistry he shared with Robin Tunney’s character, Teresa Lisbon. There’s a section of The Mentalist fans who root for Lisbon and Pike over Jane and Lisbon.

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8) Javi Gutiérrez (The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent)

The Nicolas Cage-starrer action-comedy, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, is a satirical depiction of stardom. Nicolas Cage plays himself while Pedro Pascal plays a super-fan of Cage named Javi Gutiérrez.

In the film, Cage accepts a vague offer worth $1 million to appear at a billionaire’s birthday party, who is also his huge fan. The quirky fan Javi asks Cage to create an improvisational movie on a script that the former wrote. The chemistry Pascal shared with Cage, along with the charm, eccentricity and his comedic timing, makes this one of Pedro Pascal’s best performances.

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7) Dave York (The Equalizer 2)

Often overlooked, The Equalizer 2 displays another of Pedro Pascal’s best performances as the enigmatic Dave York. Pascal’s Dave is a former colleague of Washington’s Robert McCall, and he helps the latter investigate the murder of Susan Plummer.

Dave initially appears to be a highly trained, sympathetic, and straightforward character, but as the film progresses, we see cracks beginning to appear in the empathetic exterior. We realise that Dave is not what McCall thinks he is, that his moral compass has now shifted. He is not a friend anymore. Amongst his positive and morally correct roles, Dave York showed us that Pedro Pascal does not shy away from portraying morally gray or entirely devious characters.

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6) General Acacius (Gladiator II)

Gladiator II was a big movie coming out in the latter half of 2024 with two of the internet’s favorite actors, Paul Mescal and Pedro Pascal. Mescal plays Lucius Verus Aurelius, Maximus’s son, while Pedro plays General Acacius, who is now reduced to being a gladiator after being arrested.

Pascal’s character as a meticulous general, who later conspired to overthrow the emperors, not to send more men to their deaths by fighting for them. Pascal's character was not just prolific in warfare but also cared about his men. Ridley Scott’s film gave the actor another opportunity to show his diverse acting range, which is capable of drawing audience attention, making it another of Pedro Pascal’s best performances.

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5) Fink (The Wild Robot)

With The Wild Robot, Pascal excelled in showing another facet of his talent by voicing the character of Fink, a red fox. He is the first friend of Lupita Nyong’o’s robot named Roz.

Fink initially becomes Roz’s friend with dubious intentions, but as time goes by they become good friends and also save the animals of the forest during a severe storm. The film proves that Pascal does not need to appear on screen to express emotions. In this voice acting role, he brings alive the sly fox with ulterior motives but a well-meaning heart.

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4) Oberyn Martell (Game of Thrones)

With this role, Pedro Pascal broke the internet. Oberyn Martell, or the Red Viper from Game of Thrones, is a scene-stealing character. Whether he shares the screen with the villainous Cersei Lannister, or her intelligent brother Tyrion, Oberyn’s infectious charm captivates the audience.

While no one was ready to fight on behalf of Tyrion, Oberyn stood up and took up the challenge, but with ulterior motives of avenging his sister’s brutal death at the hands of the Mountain. Although he was killed in a gruesome manner by the Mountain, the breakthrough character cannot be missed when listing Pedro Pascal’s best performances.

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3) Javier Peña (Narcos)

The portrayal of the conflicted DEA agent, Javier Peña, in Narcos Seasons 1 and 2 is one of Pedro Pascal’s best performances. He tries to unravel the deeprooted corruption in the Colombian government, by sometimes even doing things that required him to compromise as a protector of the law.

Peña and his partner, Steven Murphy, face many life-threatening challenges while dismantling Pablo Escobar’s drug cartel. Their different ways of solving the problems and the dynamic they share while bringing down one of the biggest criminals are intriguing to watch. Pascal’s complex character and his moral conflicts while doing something outside of law are expressed seamlessly.

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2) Joel Miller (The Last of Us)

Pedro Pascal brought alive one of the most popular video game characters, Joel from The Last of Us. In the series, he portrayed the survival-hardened character of Joel Miller, who was tasked to bring Elie to the Fireflies, to find a cure to the fungal infection due to which society has collapsed.

With this complex character, Pascal perfectly conveyed the emotions of someone who gradually began caring for the teenage girl he was supposed to send to her death. The emotionally scarred and weary posture of Joel, after surviving the post-apocalyptic world for long while also protecting Elie from humans and the infected alike, was portrayed by Pascal impeccably and he deserves all the praise that he has been receiving for the role.

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1) Din Djarin (The Mandalorian)

The stoic bounty hunter, Din Djarin, who follows the Mandalorian code to the T, has to be one of Pedro Pascal’s best performances. This is a role where his face is concealed most of the time, and it might have been tricky to convey emotions that would resonate with the audience. However, Pascal created a compelling character despite the restraint and won us over.

His protectiveness toward baby Grogu, combined with his portrayal of a character with subtle physicality and subdued voice acting, created an original character in the Star Wars universe, which made us fall for the Mandalorian.

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