Pedro Pascal appears to be almost everybody's favourite actor these days, though it helps that he can be found everywhere. He's The Mandalorian's Din Djarin, Joel in The Last of Us, and has frequently been hailed for standout roles in the likes of Game of Thrones, Gladiator II, and even Wonder Woman 1984.
Next up for Pascal is his MCU debut with The Fantastic Four: First Steps. He'll play Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic in the Marvel Studios reboot.
He recently made headlines for firing back at Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling's gloating about the UK Supreme Court's ruling on limiting the legal definition of a woman to the basis of biological sex. Taking to Instagram, Pascal described her actions as "heinous LOSER behaviour."
"The one thing that I would say I agonized over a little bit was just, 'Am I helping? Am I f***ing helping?'" Pascal told Vanity Fair (via ComicBookMovie.com). "It’s a situation that deserves the utmost elegance so that something can actually happen, and people will actually be protected. Listen, I want to protect the people I love. But it goes beyond that. Bullies make me f***ing sick."
Rowling hit back by sharing a video of Pascal reaching for Vanessa Kirby's hand at Marvel Studios' Comic-Con panel last year. She insinuated that he's presumptuous with women.
The site spoke to Kirby, who stated, "What happened is we were both incredibly nervous going out in front of thousands of people who love this comic. He wanted me to know that we were in this together, and I found it a lovely gesture and was very glad to squeeze his hand back."
Clashes with Rowling aside, all eyes are now on Pascal to see what he brings to the table as the MCU's Mister Fantastic. The actor will have a lead role in the next Avengers movies, where he's expected to be front and centre in the battle with Downey's Doctor Doom.
"I’m getting an inkling of excitement because it seems to reflect what our common goal was, and what we want to share, which is all of our f***ing hearts on a platter within this genre," Pascal said of his MCU role. "You just never know if people are going to be disgusted by your heart or not."
"I’m more aware of disgruntlement around my casting than anything I’ve ever done," he acknowledged. "He’s too old. He’s not right. He needs to shave.'" Fortunately, Pascal has found an ally in MCU veteran and Iron Man star Robert Downey Jr. "He’s just so immediately generous and inviting that you feel like you can be afraid, you can be hungry, you can be ambivalent."
Elsewhere in the interview, it's revealed that Pascal was heading to Downey's house for a "homework" meeting with the Avengers: Doomsday cast. Alongside his co-stars from The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Pascal will reprise his role as Reed in the movie.
Asked what "homework day" would entail, he dodged the question before being pushed on whether it means he's an Avenger now. "I don’t know, I don’t know," Pascal laughed. "Let’s go back to talking about death and suicide again and not the Avengers!"
The Fantastic Four: First Steps is set to be released in theaters on July 25, 2025.