The Last of Us star Pedro Pascal forced to flee home country as a baby

Virgin Radio

27 Feb 2023, 09:50

The Last of Us star Pedro Pascal was forced to flee his home country of Chile as a baby before settling in USA.

If you have watched any TV in the past few years, chances are you have come across Pedro Pascal. He’s starred in Game of Thrones (with one of the most gory but memorable death scenes in the show), The Mandalorian, Narcos and most recently, The Last of Us.

He’s one of the biggest actors in the industry at the moment but things might have been quite different.

Pascal and his family left their home of Chile when he was just a baby because of the situation in the country under the government of Augusto Pinochet.

Pinochet became the leader of Chile in 1973 and was declared the President of the Republic in 1974. He ruled effectively as a dictator until 1990 and at the time, Pascal’s parents were involved with the opposition movement against him.

What’s more, Pascal’s mother was the cousin of Andrés Pascal Allende, who was the leader of the Movement of the Revolutionary Left- a group working to overthrow the government.

Their activism against the regime meant Pascal and his parents were in serious danger if they remained in Chile. So, when the actor was just nine months old, they sought refuge in Santiago before making it out and settling in Denmark.

In an interview with Orange Coast magazine, Pascal explained: “It was the mid-’70s and my parents were young and liberal.

“It was a dangerous time, and they were lucky they got out with their lives.”

In another interview with Reddit, he added: “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.

“They then snuck into the Venezuelan Embassy after being in hiding for about six months after finding out people were looking for them.”

After briefly living in Denmark, the family relocated to San Antonio in Texas, and it was here Pascal went to art school before moving to New York’s Tisch School of the Arts.

The rest is history as they say.