Yahoo Movies Pedro Pascal Admits He Forgot He Landed Lead Role in The Last of Us After Taking Ambien to Sleep
Pedro Pascal almost forgot he landed the role of a lifetime — just hours after securing the gig!
The Last of Us actor, 47, appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon Thursday, where he recalled what happened after landing the lead role in HBO's new apocalyptic sci-fi series.
Pascal told host Jimmy Fallon he was in London while the rest of the crew and producers were in Los Angeles, so when he got the call to discuss the show with Neil Druckmann (the creator of the video game off of which the show is based), it was already late at night.
To help himself fall asleep and fight the adrenaline rush after getting his hopes up, Pascal took an Ambien — which led to a funny haze of confusion in the morning.
"I get a call that I got the job after I took the Ambien, and so I was excited I guess, but I didn't remember," Pascal recalled to Fallon, 48. "I woke up in the morning and the first thing that occurred to me was like, 'Oh man, I really want that job.'"
Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic Pedro Pascal
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He continued, "I'm in London, they're in L.A., I'm gonna wait by the phone all day long, this hasn't happened in a while, I'm gonna be longing and I'm gonna think about it all day long. And then it was like, 'Congratulations, I'm so happy for you!' when I looked at my phone."
"And I was like, 'Oh yeah, I got the job!'" he joyfully added.
The Last of Us is inspired by the video game of the same name, which was released in 2013. The show follows two apocalypse survivors — Joel (Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) — an unlikely duo who work together to survive a fungal outbreak that has taken the lives (and consciousness) of most of humanity.
The series also stars Nick Offerman, Murray Bartlett, Gabriel Luna, Merle Dandridge, Nico Parker, Jeffrey Pierce, and Anna Torv, and has been met with wide critical and commercial success since its debut in January.
Courtesy of HBO
Pascal, who gained fame from Game of Thrones, Narcos, and The Mandalorian, will host Saturday Night Live this week.
When asked how he secured all these iconic roles on hit TV shows, Pascal quipped that it was just luck and doors opening at the right time.
"And that's the end, I'll do SNL and then, 'You're retired buddy,'" he joked. "I have nothing to do with it. The door opens and you're like, 'Let me in!'"
"I beg," Pascal added, to which Fallon quickly responded, "No, you don't."
Lucasfilm Ltd. The Mandalorian season 3
During his appearance on The Tonight Show, Pascal also spoke about the upcoming season 3 release of The Mandalorian.
He teased that there will be more Mandalorians and multiple big battles, but stayed mum about further details, joking Disney would have him replaced with AI or "another Pedro Pascal" if he revealed any more.
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Pascal will make his SNL hosting debut beside musical guest Coldplay on Saturday at 11:30 p.m. ET on NBC.
The Last of Us airs on Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO.
