In an exclusive interview for EW’s cover story, the actor explains his reaction to the latest episode.
“It’s April 20.
“But I think I’ll be working.
Pedro Pascal as Joel Miller on ‘The Last of Us’ season 2.Credit:Liane Hentscher/HBO
So I have no idea.”
That’s by design.
“I’m in active denial,” the co-lead ofThe Last of UswithBella Ramseyadmits.
Pedro Pascal poses for EW’s ‘The Last of Us’ season 2 cover shoot.Gina Gizella Manning
Pascal knew this day would eventually come from the moment he accepted the job ahead of season 1.
“It was just a matter of how and when,” Pascal says.
Pascal remembers shooting his death scene in Kamloops, Canada.
It felt like any other day.
To be honest, it was quite dreamlike.”
“This kind of shock and heartbreak… it was weird to be on the receiving end of that.
It’s like the extreme version of, ‘Is there something on my face?’
I really could see this sort of grief take over everyone’s look in their eyes.”
The scene itself proved fulfilling for Pascal.
Pedro Pascal’s Joel on ‘The Last of Us’ season 2.Liane Hentscher/HBO
In a separate conversation with EW, Mazin praises Pascal’s performance as a dying Joel.
It’s very easy to screw that up.
It’s very easy to just be stage deaf-y or do nothing.
Bella Ramsey and Pedro Pascal for EW’s ‘The Last of Us’ season 2 cover shoot.Gina Gizella Manning
To find something that beautiful there, it’s magical."
I remember playing that, and that was really devastating."
There are scenes teased in the season 2 trailers involving him that we haven’t seen yet.
“We’ve shown that we screw around with time,” Mazin says.
“So characters are gone but not forgotten, and sometimes they are remembered in interesting ways.”
The Last of Usseason 2 will continue dropping episodes on HBO and Max every Sunday at 9 p.m. ET/PT.
Read more about this episode and what it means for the show inEW’s cover story.
