Pedro Pascal Invented A Fake Satanic Language For NYPD Blue
With each passing day, it seems Pedro Pascal comes one step closer to taking over the world of pop culture (and that's not in any way a complaint). In addition to starring in TV series like "Game of Thrones" and "Narcos," he played Nicolas Cage's newfound BFF in the meta-action-comedy film "The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent" and headlines "The Mandalorian" as Grogu's surrogate father, Din Djarin. As if that wasn't enough, he's also playing Joel in the acclaimed HBO series "The Last of Us," based on the video game property of the same name. If you're a fan of his (and why wouldn't you be?), this is prime Pedro time, with delightful interviews and anecdotes popping up all over the place.
His latest appearance came on the YouTube series "Hot Ones," where celebrities eat a series of successively hotter wings (meat, veggie, or vegan) as host Sean Evans chats with them about their careers. In Pascal's episode, we learned a little bit more about some of his early film and TV roles, including the fact that he guest starred on shows like "Law and Order," "CSI," and "NYPD Blue." Pascal told Evans that for the latter, he played a goth who made up a Satanic language for a scene. If you want to check it out, it's season 8, episode 9, entitled "Oh Golly Goth." Pascal is listed as Alexander Pascal in the credits.
'I thought it was supposed to be like, Latin or something'
That is a lot of jewelry, Pedro Pascal! "There was a really, really unusually fun character that I played on 'NYPD Blue,' this goth guy named Dio," Pascal recalled. "And he had all these fake piercings and was just a teenager hitting on the female cop." The actor then proceeded to explain why, of all things, he wound up inventing a fake Satanic language for the crime drama:
"At one point, he has a pentagram on the inside of his palm that they made with a black sharpie and I lick it and I make up some Satanic language. I thought it was supposed to be like, Latin or something. And I remember thinking, 'Do you have Latin words I'm supposed to learn?' and they're like 'No dude, just make it up.' And I was like, oh, okay. It was a kind of thing where I licked the hand, and then I turned slowly toward the camera going [fake Satanic language] some crazy s*** like that on an episode of your ABC Network television hit, 'NYPD Blue.' I made up the language."
The scene happens about 35 minutes into the episode, and the subtitles simply list what he's doing as "speaking in tongues." He's pretty creepy. (I think Grogu is too young to see his Papa Mando in this role.) Pascal made a number of one-off appearances on other TV series early in his career too, including "Touched by an Angel," "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," and "Without a Trace." I don't know about, but I know what I'm doing with my weekend now.
If you want to check out Pascal's episode of "NYPD Blue," the show is currently streaming on Prime Video.