How Buffy the Vampire Slayer saved a youthful Pedro Pascal from homelessness
Pedro Pascal as Eddie the Freshman in Buffy the Vampire Slayer (20th Century Fox)
As well as repeatedly saving the world from the apocalypse, it turns out that Buffy also saved The Last of Us and Mandalorian star Pedro Pascal as well.
He has shared that his role in a 1999 episode of cult teen fantasy show Buffy the Vampire Slayer saved him from being homeless and quitting acting.
The 48-year-old revealed to Entertainment Tonight that without a residual cheque from Buffy, he would have had to exit the acting world.
The Last of Us star had just won ‘Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series’ SAG Award when he made the statement.
“My entry level lasted about 15 years,” he said, going on to outline the extent to which he was financially unstable.
“We’re talking about [not] being able to see a doctor, getting sick, getting a surgery, paying my rent when I had less than seven dollars in my account and a residual from Buffy the Vampire Slayer showed up and saved the day.
“[That is] literally the reason I was able to stay in [the world of acting] and not give up.”
Pascal’s role in the show, which ran from 1997 to 2003 and has become a true queer classic thanks to its trailblazing portrayal of a lesbian relationship, was Edward (or Eddie).
The character appeared in season four’s premiere, “The Freshman”, which aired on October 5, 1999.
Eddie was a freshman at the University of California, Sunnydale and an acquaintance of the eponymous Buffy, played by Sarah Michelle Gellar.
When Buffy notices Eddie is suspiciously absent from class, she goes looking for him and discovers he’s been turned into a vampire. Eddie tries to attack Buffy but she stabs him with a stake and, like pretty much every single vampire in Sunnydale that went before him, he is turned to dust.
Despite the brevity of his time on the hit TV show, Pascal is still clearly thankful for the role.
More than 20 years later, both Pascal and Gellar are thriving in their careers. While Pascal has (broadly) embraced his role as the internet’s “cool, slutty daddy”, Gellar has become “Mother” to the gays – something she celebrated by sharing a cute throwback pic of her and Pascal in the 1999 episode on Instagram:
Like Gellar, Pascal has always been a staunch LGBTQ+ ally, particularly standing up for the trans community.
Pascal’s trans sister, Lux Pascal, recently secured a role in the upcoming thriller film Summer War.
The 31-year-old Chilean actress came out as trans in 2021; following her announcement Pascal called her his “heart”.
Lux’s brother, the internet’s boyfriend, is set to return to The Last of Us‘s second season as Joel.
He will be once again joined by the phenomenal Bella Ramsey who plays Ellie – she is set to embark on a queer romance with new character Dina (Isabela Merced) in the next season.
“Filming is going amazing,” he recently told Deadline about the forthcoming season.
“It’s sort of awe-inspiring the kind of focus and dedication that everyone has going into Season 2.”
“It’s incredible to be back home with them and creatively and everybody, our entire crew, they’re working harder than I could even imagine, even harder than our first season which is close to impossible,” Pascal added.
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