The 12 Best Pedro Pascal Movies And TV Shows, Ranked

While actor Pedro Pascal gained wide recognition from his memorable performance in "Game of Thrones," he's been working steadily in film and television since the '90s, first auditioning for what would become of Edward Norton's best movies. Even after catapulting into the spotlight, Pascal continues to take on everything from scene-stealing supporting roles to lead parts. Able to alternate from easygoing charm to unshakeable intensity at a moment's notice, Pascal has steadily become a true fan-favorite screen presence in the past decade. This is evidenced by the impressive body of work Pascal has built up over the years, including a hilarious hosting stint on "Saturday Night Live."

Given the breadth of his career, Pascal has done everything from high-octane action projects to family-friendly fare in movies and television. Whether playing a suave and charismatic hero or gruff and grizzled survivor, Pascal's characters tend to carry a grounded weight to them. No matter what the part requires of him, Pascal consistently delivers, elevating the material. 

Here are the 12 best Pedro Pascal movies and TV shows ranked and ready for you to check out.

After the success of 2014's bubblegum pop spy movie "Kingsman: The Secret Service," its 2017 sequel, "Kingsman: The Golden Circle" introduced stylish American secret agents known as the Statesmen. Among the most deadly of the Statesman is Agent Whiskey (Pascal), a Texan charmer armed with an upgraded lasso. Whiskey is revealed to have an agenda of his own, willing to eradicate all drug users in the world, without any care to the types or severity of drug use. This leads to a furious fracas between Whiskey and Kingsman operatives Eggsy Unwin (Taron Egerton) and Harry Hart (Colin Firth) to prevent Whiskey from killing millions.

Of all the villainous roles that Pascal has played over his career so far, Whiskey in "The Golden Circle" is his most fun. The overall movie runs a bit overlong and its pacing is all over the place, but Pascal elevates the proceedings whenever he's on-screen. Whiskey's climactic fight against Eggsy and Harry is one of the best action set pieces in the franchise, and it gives Pascal his most over-the-top character death to date. Even more ridiculous than its predecessor and just as self-assuredly cool, "Kingsman: The Golden Circle" is the best comic book adaptation Pascal has appeared in.

Pascal is part of an all-star ensemble leading the Netflix original action movie "Triple Frontier," penned by director J.C. Chandor and "Zero Dark Thirty" screenwriter Mark Boal. The movie follows a group of former Delta Force operators who reunite to raid a South American drug lord of his ill-gotten gains for themselves. Using their old callsigns, the team is led by Pope (Oscar Isaac) and Redfly (Ben Affleck), with Catfish (Pascal) as their helicopter pilot. Though their unauthorized mission is a success, greed derails the squad as they try to make their escape.

Top-to-bottom, "Triple Frontier" is a competently assembled action flick, if a bit lightweight in its final execution. What makes the movie stand out is its experienced ensemble cast, including Pascal, with the team's camaraderie prominent, even when under fire. Though initially overlooked in its initial 2019 release, the movie has seen a resurgence, fueled by Pascal and Isaac's heightened public profiles. A relatively straightforward action movie buoyed by its strong cast and solid action set pieces, "Triple Frontier" is an unflashy good time.

Despite creating the "Spy Kids" franchise, filmmaker Robert Rodriguez still doesn't get enough credit for the family-friendly work he's been doing for decades. One of Rodriguez's more recent kids' movies is 2020's "We Can Be Heroes," which follows the children of a superhero team, The Heroics. Most of these kids have each developed their own distinct superpowers, with the exception of Missy Moreno (YaYa Gosselin), who has no powers, unlike her father Marcus (Pascal). After The Heroics are kidnapped by extraterrestrials, Missy rallies the kids to save their parents from the alien conquerors.

With "We Can Be Heroes," Rodriguez channels his work with "Spy Kids" and "The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl," with this movie serving as a standalone sequel to the latter. Just as "Spy Kids" poked gentle fun at espionage tropes popularized by James Bond, Rodriguez is sending up the superhero genre here. Pascal does a reliably good job as the protagonist's father, a role presaging his popular paternal characters to come. Unabashedly wacky, "We Can Be Heroes" is a breezy popcorn flick boasting Rodriguez's usual visual flair.

After 24 years, director Ridley Scott returned to the world of his blockbuster 2000 film "Gladiator," with the aptly titled historical epic "Gladiator II." The sequel shifts its focus to Maximus' illegitimate son Lucius Aurelius (Paul Mescal), living in hiding in North Africa until his wife is killed by invading Roman General Acacius (Pascal). Enslaved and forced to become a gladiator, Lucius swears his revenge as he fights up the ranks to eventually return to Rome. Lucius finds Rome run decadently by two twin brothers and is shocked that his mother Lucilla (Connie Nielsen) is now married to Acacius, setting the stage for a bloody confrontation.

While initially introduced as the story's primary antagonist, Acacius becomes more of a wild card as "Gladiator II" progresses. This makes Pascal's performance one of the more interesting things about the whole movie, adding shades of complexity to what starts out as a simple revenge tale. While the sequel never quite emerges from the shadow of the original movie, there's still plenty of spectacle to be had. The most complex adversarial character Pascal has portrayed to date, "Gladiator II" gives him a sweeping canvas to play in.

Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar has been making counter-culture and queer-centric movies since 1980, with only a handful of projects in English. The second of these is the 2023 short film "Strange Way of Life," a Western starring Ethan Hawke and Pedro Pascal. Hawke plays Jake, the recently appointed sheriff of a small town in the American Southwest who is visited by his old flame Silva, played by Pascal. As the two reconnect, they contemplate their relationship, especially as Silva's son Joe (George Steane) is held in custody by Jake.

Running for just over 30 minutes, "Strange Way of Life" has Almodóvar packing in more emotional storytelling than most feature-length projects do these days. Hawke and Pascal play well off each other, blending longing, reminiscence, and distrust in their scenes together. The short film is also both actors at their most vulnerable, with their characters allowing themselves to cautiously rekindle their romance. A short and bittersweet project in Pascal's wider filmography, don't be deterred by the length of "Strange Way of Life" to give it a chance.

Given Nicolas Cage's larger-than-life reputation and extensive film career, he is the narrative focus of the 2022 metatextual comedy "The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent." Cage plays a fictionalized version of himself, whose career and personal life has fallen into shambles as he contemplates retiring from acting. After receiving a lucrative offer from superfan Javi Gutiérrez (Pascal), Cage agrees to help Gutiérrez celebrate his birthday in Majorca. This leads Cage to inadvertently become embroiled in a CIA investigation of Gutiérrez's family over suspected arms dealing and political kidnapping.

Given its subject matter, "The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent" really works best for viewers who are at least familiar with the highlights of Cage's actual filmography. Cage gives a great largely deadpan comedic performance as a facsimile of himself, including a garish younger Nicolas Cage of Christmas Past version. Pascal matches this with an unbridled enthusiasm as the ultimate Nicolas Cage fanboy, eager to spend a weekend with his cinematic hero. A sly love letter to the eccentric character actor, "The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent" gives Cage and Pascal the opportunity to get delightfully weird with the premise.

One of Pascal's best science fiction projects is also one of his most criminally overlooked, the 2018 indie film "Prospect." Set on a forested moon with deadly spores in the air, the movie has father-daughter duo Damon (Jay Duplass) and Cee (Sophie Thatcher) arriving to harvest gems. This places them on a collision course with rival miners Ezra (Pascal) and a group of heavily armed mercenaries. After a harrowing confrontation, Cee and Ezra are forced to work together if they hope to outmaneuver the mercenaries and escape the moon alive.

"Prospect" lovingly recreates the lo-fi sci-fi vibe popularized by genre movies in the '70s as it weaves its own captivating story. For its faraway setting and omnipresent spacesuits, this is essentially a tale about survival and the lengths you'd go to escape a bad situation in a harsh environment. Thatcher and Pascal make a great on-screen duo, with Thatcher's Cee proving to be disarmingly resilient in how she handles the increasingly desperate scenario she finds herself in. A fantastic indie movie that reminds not all effective sci-fi movies need a big price tag, "Prospect" is a diamond in the rough within Pascal's filmography.

The most buzzed-about original series at the launch of the premium streaming service Disney+ in 2019 was "The Mandalorian," the first live-action "Star Wars" television show. Set approximately five years after the events of "Return of the Jedi," the show follows Mandalorian bounty hunter Din Djarin (Pascal) as he works along the galaxy's Outer Rim. Djarin rescues the infant Jedi Grogu on a job from the remnants of the Galactic Empire, but refuses to relinquish the child. This leads to the duo being pursued throughout the cosmos while Din reconciles with his Mandalorian identity and the cost of removing his helmet before others.

Premiering a month before the derisively received "The Rise of Skywalker," "The Mandalorian" re-energized the franchise and proved its future largely lay in television. Though Din Djarin is physically played by several stunt performers, Pascal voices the character and occasionally plays the taciturn bounty hunter on-screen, obviously whenever he's unmasked. In keeping with the tradition set by fellow Mandalorian Boba Fett, Pascal's delivery is gruff and curt, like so many of the gunslingers and samurai that inspired "Star Wars." Providing the grounded, lived-in experience that fans have desired since the original trilogy, "The Mandalorian" helped elevate Disney+ as a premier streaming platform from jump.

Pedro Pascal's best voiceover project isn't "The Mandalorian" but rather the 2024 animated movie "The Wild Robot," adapting Peter Brown's 2016 novel of the same name. Set primarily on a remote island featuring a temperate climate and flush with flora and fauna, a robot nicknamed Roz (Lupita Nyong'o) crashes in the habitat. After accidentally crushing a goose nest, Roz raises its one surviving gosling, Brightbill (Kit Connor), teaching the impressionable bird to fly and migrate. Among the wildlife that befriends Roz during her time on the island is Fink (Pascal), a cunning but well-meaning fox.

Top-to-bottom, "The Wild Robot" is a modern animated masterpiece, celebrating the beauty of untamed nature while exploring the dynamics of a found family. Like virtually cinematic foxes, Pascal plays Fink as sly and sarcastic, providing much of the movie's comic relief. But the story really stands out when it highlights the sense of community and belonging that Roz lacks when she's introduced, leading to its emotional climax. A triumphant tearjerker, "The Wild Robot" is easily Pedro Pascal's best family-friendly project to date.

The project that really got wider audiences noticing Pascal in a big way was his fourth season recurring role in "Game of Thrones." Airing in 2014, Pascal played Oberyn Martell, who represents the Kingdom of Dorne at the King's Landing council of rulers. Oberyn secretly seeks revenge for the murder of his beloved older sister Elia and her children, targeting the man responsible, Ser Gregor Clegane (Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson). This culminates in a vicious duel between the two men, with Gregor emerging victorious, but not before Oberyn fatally poisons him with his venom-laced blade.

During its initial broadcast run, "Game of Thrones" absolutely ruled television and completely reinvigorated the high fantasy genre in its adaptation of George R.R. Martin's novels. Pascal was in his element as Oberyn Martell, capturing the suave, sexiness of the character and calculated vengeance, at least before it gorily backfires on him. Just as Pascal upped the cool sex appeal of the series, his character's death was also the show's most infamously graphic. A highlight of the genre, no matter how fans feel about the final season, "Game of Thrones" was firing on all cylinders while Pascal was part of it.

Following his memorable run on the fourth season of "Game of Thrones," Pascal's next major television project was the Netflix original crime series "Narcos." Set during the drug war in Latin America in the '70s through the '90s, the show focuses on the DEA's efforts to bring down Colombian kingpin Pablo Escobar (Wagner Moura). Leading this task force are DEA agents Steve Murphy (Boyd Holbrook) and Javier Peña (Pascal), with both men sent into Colombia for the deadly cat-and-mouse game against Escobar. The show's third season features Peña taking on the Cali cartel, one of Escobar's major rivals, in the wake of Escobar's death.

Propulsively paced and with plenty of action and intrigue to hook audiences, "Narcos" is one the best crime shows produced by Netflix. Pascal and Moura are consistently magnetic in their scenes, with Pascal effectively taking the spotlight in the third season. The Pascal-led season of "Narcos" is also arguably the show's best, taking Peña on a compelling investigation and highlighting Pascal's adept performance. A gripping look at America's fight against the cocaine market, Pascal gets the chance to shine as Peña, both as a competent agent and nuanced man at a crossroads.

In terms of a project that truly showcases the depth and range of Pedro Pascal's acting capabilities, there is nothing as complex as his role in "The Last of Us." In the HBO adaptation of the acclaimed video game franchise, Pascal stars as Joel Miller, a grizzled survivor in a world overrun by zombie-like hordes infected by a hostile fungus. While haunted by his daughter's death during the contagion's outbreak, Joel is tasked by a survivor faction to escort teenager Ellie (Bella Ramsey) cross-country to their stronghold in Utah. Along the way, Joel and Ellie face vicious survivors just as deadly as the infected, with Joel shocked to discover what is planned for Ellie.

The weight of the world and all its cruelty rests on Joel throughout "The Last of Us," with Pascal capturing that deep sense of pain and guilt in his character. This is also a story where everybody's hands get dirty with the morally questionable things they do to survive, with that culpability certainly applying to Joel. What Pascal excels at is not only making Joel's decisions understandable but generating sympathy for even his most heinous actions. A heartbreaking look at survival and the cost of violence on the soul, "The Last of Us" is Pascal at his uncompromising finest.