Why The Actor Who Plays The Mandalorian Looks So Familiar

On the Season 1 finale of The Mandalorian, our reluctant hero and newest Star Wars icon took enough of a tumble to necessitate removing his helmet and giving us a look at his bloody, battered visage. Here's why Pedro Pascal, the actor under the helmet, looks so familiar.

You might have heard about that plucky little fantasy program Game of Thrones once or twice in the past, but you may not immediately remember that Pedro Pascal got his own turn on the program during its fourth season. He held a recurring role as Prince Oberyn Martell also known as "The Viper" an utterly unflappable duelist-slash-poisoner from the nation of Dorne. 

Despite appearing on only seven episodes of Game of Thrones, Pascal's footprint is still legible on the series even after its end, both for his character's snappy attitude and his incredibly gruesome death at the hands of The Mountain during a trial by combat.

Playing Oberyn earned Pascal sex symbol status and before becoming the Mandalorian, it was his most high-profile role. He was recognized as a standout performer in what is often regarded as one of the best overall seasons of Game of Thrones, and his career only began to soar from there.

Following Game of Thrones, Pascal landed a starring role as DEA agent Javier Peña for three seasons on the Netflix historical crime drama Narcos. The series charts the history of the international investigation into and eventual capture of infamous cartel lord Pablo Escobar. Pascal consulted with the real-life agent Peña to properly depict the man's ideological struggle with the War on Drugs' futility and the culture of extreme violence and corruption perpetuated by both the illegal trade itself and the law enforcement effort made to curb it. 

Narcos might be a more niche selection for the general Netflix-original-consuming audience, but the show earned Pascal a large amount of positive praise. The series ended in 2017 after its third season, and was spun off into a Pascal-free follow-up series about the development of the major Mexican drug cartels entitled Narcos: Mexico.  

Like every other starving twenty-something actor living in New York City in the 1990s and 2000s, Pedro Pascal landed a few one-episode roles on the various versions of the Law and Order franchise, which you may recognize him from if you have an incredible memory. 

Another of Pascal's many TV credits include a brief recurring role on Graceland, USA Network's law enforcement drama about undercover federal agents living out of a confiscated house in California. He appeared only on the first season as an FBI agent and the subject of an internal investigation, who comes into violent conflict with other characters on the show.

Keep watching the video to find out more reasons why the actor who plays The Mandalorian looks so familiar.

#Mandalorian #PedroPascal #StarWars

Game Of Thrones | 0:15
Narcos | 1:09
Deeper Cuts | 1:58
Comic Book Movies Past And Future | 3:42