What is Pedro Pascal’s ethnicity? All the details

Without persistence and patience, Pedro Pascal wouldn’t be the Hollywood star he is today. For two decades, Pedro settled for minor and recurring parts, awaiting the role that would introduce him to a global audience: Pedro’s memorable yet short-lived portrayal of Oberyn Martell in season 4 of Game of Thrones gave him his big break. 

Pedro’s fame proliferated when he played Javier Pena in Netflix’s Narcos. Having shown the world that he was a proficient actor, roles in big productions came thick and fast. 

In 2023, Pedro plays Joel Miller in HBO’s adaptation of the popular game The Last of Us. 

Pedro Pascal was born on 2nd April 1975 in Santiago, Chile, to Veronica Pascal Ureta and Jose Balmaceda Riera. Pedro is Hispanic. 

His parents opposed the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet and supported a guerilla movement dedicated to ousting Pinochet. Concerned about their family’s safety, Veronica and Jose sought refuge in the Venezuelan embassy in Chile’s capital. 

Pedro was nine months old when Denmark granted the family political asylum. Several years later, the family moved to the United States, settling in Orange County, California, and San Antonio, Texas. 

Pedro kept in touch with his Latino roots by visiting Chile regularly to meet his extended family. The actor remained in the United States after a scandal forced his father, mother, and two youngest brothers to return to Chile. 

Jose, a fertility expert, faced accusations of financial wrongdoing and unethical practices at UC Irvine’s Center for Reproductive Health. Jose was welcomed back with aplomb by his fellow Chileans. In March 2022, Jose signed a plea agreement admitting that he underreported his taxes in the early 90s. 

Pedro’s mother, a child psychologist, died shortly after the family returned to Chile. The actor honored her mother by changing his professional last name from Balmaceda to Pascal. 

“She was always supportive, never a stage mom,” Pascal told People. “I always felt she knew something that I didn’t. None of [my success] would be real if it weren’t for her.”

Pascal told the outlet that despite the constant relocations, he felt he was spoiled. “I’m being a little harsh with myself, but this would have been about eight years after they had been running for their lives,” he said. “I was so well taken care of and shielded from it.”