Hard-Earned Facts About Pedro Pascal, The Unlikely Star
Pedro Pascal is currently one of TV’s most beloved actors, but his rise to fame has been anything but easy.
From the family tragedies that marked the start of his career to his days as a go-go dancer in Madrid and a struggling waiter in New York, Pascal has faced countless obstacles on his long road to success—and more than a few scandalous twists and turns in his personal life.
1. His Parents Hid For Their Lives
For psychologist Verónica Pascal Ureta and fertility doctor José Balmaceda Riera, the birth of their son Pedro should’ve been a joyous time—but instead, they were hiding in terror. For years, they had risked their lives working for the resistance movement against Chile’s dictator Augusto Pinochet. Fearing imprisonment or worse under the brutal regime, they left Pascal and his sister with their aunt to go on the run. A few months later, they made a daring move to save themselves and their family.
2. They Made An Epic Escape
After six months in hiding, Pascal’s parents risked everything to escape Chile. The brave fugitives managed to climb the walls of the Venezuelan embassy and claim asylum.
They then fled with their children to Denmark as refugees before eventually settling in the US. Unfortunately, even in their new country, the family continued to face challenges.
3. He Endured Severe Bullying
Growing up, Pedro Pascal not only had to deal with frequent moves and learning a new language; he also faced relentless taunting.
When his family moved from Texas to California after he finished fifth grade, kids bullied him mercilessly in his new school. Isolated and unhappy, Pascal turned to movies and plays for comfort—the first sign of his interest in an acting career.
4. He Found His Calling At A Young Age
Pascal was only a teen when he realized what he wanted to do with his life. His obsession with plays and classic movies led him to start taking acting classes, where he realized he had a natural gift for performing. He enrolled in an elite arts high school to develop his talents and went on to study at New York University’s prestigious Tisch School of the Arts. But soon after moving to New York, a terrible scandal changed his family forever.
