Pedro Pascal forgot he was cast as Joel in The Last of Us after taking an Ambien

3 February 2023, 17:29

Pedro Pascal forgot he was cast in The Last of Us

By Sam Prance

Pedro Pascal was stressing out over the role not realising that he'd already been asked to play it.

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Pedro Pascal has opened up about his The Last of Us audition and let slip that he originally "forgot" that he was cast as Joel.

If you've watched The Last of Us on HBO, you would know that it's impossible to imagine anyone other than Pedro Pascal in the role of Joel Miller. Not only does Pedro capture Joel's strength and survival instincts perfectly, but he also conveys the kindness and care that makes him such a heartwarming father figure. Oh, and everyone is thirsting over him too.

Nevertheless, Pedro actually forgot that he got the part of Joel and it's all because he took an Ambien before he got the call.

Pedro Pascal forgot he was cast as Joel in The Last of Us after taking an Ambien. Picture: Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty Images, FlixPix / Alamy Stock Photo

Speaking about The Last of Us casting process with Jimmy Fallon, Pedro said: "I was actually in London and everyone else was in Los Angeles. I got sent these scripts and I was told that Craig Mazin wants you to read these scripts and if you like them, he'd like to talk you. I read the first script and was like yeah, I wanna meet him. We talked and we fell in love."

Pedro then revealed that they asked him to stay up later to talk to Neil Druckmann, the creator of the video game. He said: "We all fall in love again and then at that point, it's really late. I take an Ambien to go to sleep. They've got my adrenaline going and my hopes up but I get a call and I get told that I got the job after I took the Ambien."

Explaining further, Pedro added: "I was excited I guess but I didn't remember. I woke up in the morning and the first thing that occurred to me was, 'I really want that job. I'm gonna wait by my phone all day long. I'm gonna think about it all day long."

However, he then revealed that he'd received texts congratulating him on getting cast. Pedro said: "When I looked at my phone, I was like, 'Oh yeah! I got the job!"