Pedro Pascal has become a total Hollywood darling in recent years. However, what some people still don’t realise is that his journey to stardom has been far from easy…
Born in Santiago in Chile in 1975, he is the son of a psychologist and fertility doctor.
However, as a result of his family’s connections to the former Chilean President Salvador Allende, they were forced into exile thanks to the Pinochet dictatorship.
He opened up about this during a Reddit Q&A:”Well, my parents were liberals, they were very young at the time, I was just born, and they were Allende supporters, and you know, Chile at the time they were under military dictatorship, under Pinochet, and they were involved in the opposition movement against the military regime.
“Which really meant that they were against crimes against the people, because it was a really dangerous time, and a lot of people who spoke their mind were disappearing and in danger, it was a very intense climate for many years, they tried to help some people and were caught.
He added: “They actually snuck into the Venezuelan Embassy in Santiago, Chile and claimed asylum after being in hiding for about 6 months after finding out people were looking for them.”
Following this, his family sought refuge in Denmark. They then eventually settled in America, living in California for a time, before settling in Texas.
It wasn’t long before Pascal’s family was rocked by tragedy once again, when his father was indicted for his involvement in the 1995 UC Irvine fertility scandal. He was a part of a group accused of stealing women’s eggs, which came to a head after the death of a baby and up to seventy complaints.
Following this, Pascal’s mother and father fled with 2 of their children back to Chile. Pedro maintains his father’s innocence, but after his family fled, he was left in America with his eldest sister Javiera.
He went on to attend the New York’s Tisch School of the Arts in 1997 after discovering his love for acting.
However, in 1999, tragedy hit Pascal’s life once again, when his mother took her own life.
“The circumstances of my mother’s death made it very hard for us to keep her memory as the person she was,” he told the Paula magazine, per Marca.
“It hurts so much. Sometimes I feel anguished and I try to deal with it the best way I can, because I know my mother wouldn’t want me to do otherwise.
“She was the love of my life. I think about her every day. Since I don’t pray, I can’t say I have a practice of feeling her close, but I live for her even though she’s gone. That makes sense to me.”
After his mother’s tragic death, Pascal began using her surname as his stage name rather than his birth name, Balmaceda, in tribute to her.
Despite all of these tragedies in the early parts of his life, Pascal has gone on to become one of the biggest and most beloved names in Hollywood. His roles in shows such as The Mandalorian and The Last of Us have won the hearts of fans, and won the star some much deserved recognition for his talents.
