Tag: Pedro Pascal

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The Last of Us star Pedro Pascal loves Canada so much that he’s rocking Calgary socks

Just a few days ago, Pedro Pascal raved once again about Canada on the Oscars’ red carpet.

Now, we’re seeing that love in action. After TMZ snagged some shots of The Last of Us star leaving a Starbucks in Hollywood, people were naturally examining his fit. Some eagle-eyed viewers soon noticed that Pascal was wearing none other than Canadian socks — specifically, a pair repping Calgary.

Friday Sock Co., the Calgary-based company behind the socks, even took to Instagram to give Pascal a shoutout:

Taking a closer look at the deliberately mismatched socks, one features Calgary Tower while the other sports the Scotiabank Saddledome. They’re available in both men’s and women’s variants for $16.95 on Friday Sock Co’s website so you, too, can be stylish like Pascal.

Calgary socks Pedro Pacal

Over the course of The Last of Us promotional tour, Pascal made no secret of his love for Canada. After all, he spent an entire year in Alberta shooting the series. Speaking to MobileSyrup, Pascal even said it was “essential” to film there, praising the province for its landscapes and crew members. He also gave a special shoutout to Canmore, a “magical little town” that stood in for Jackson, Wyoming in the series’ sixth episode.

During that Oscars chat, Pascal suggested that Season 2 of the series will also film in Alberta, although HBO has yet to give official confirmation. At the same time, creators Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin confirmed that they’re developing multiple seasons to fully adapt The Last of Us Part II.

The Last of Us is now streaming on Crave. If you need more Pascal in your life, here’s where you can stream several of his other shows and movies in Canada. We’ve also rounded up some other post-apocalyptic dramas to stream in Canada.

Image credit: Lionsgate

Source: TMZ Via: Daily Hive

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Need more post-apocalyptic drama? What to stream in Canada after The Last of Us

Somehow, the first season of The Last of Us has already come and gone.

While the Alberta-shot series is set to come back for at least a second and third season, we don’t yet know when to expect them.

In the meantime, though, we’ve rounded up where you can stream other shows in Canada — primarily those with similar post-apocalyptic themes, but also some that share key talent and/or story beats.

Amazon Prime Video

Y: The Last Man

Adapted from an acclaimed comic series, Y: The Last Man explores a world in which a mysterious event has caused the deaths of all but one male.

It should be noted, however, that it was cancelled after one season, despite fairly positive reviews.

Stream Y: The Last Man on Amazon Prime Video via a Citytv+ subscription.

Crave

Chernobyl

A key reason for the success of The Last of Us is that original game writer/co-director Neil Druckmann spearheaded the series with Craig Mazin, the creator of HBO’s Chernobyl.

Starring Jared Harris (Mad Men) and Stellan Skarsgård (Andor), the miniseries is based on the true story of a catastrophic nuclear accident in Chernobyl and the sacrifices of the brave men and women who worked to mitigate the disaster.

Stream Chernobyl here.

The Leftovers

This HBO series explores what happens when two percent of the world’s population suddenly disappears.

The Leftovers features an ensemble cast led by Justin Theroux (Mulholland Drive) and has been heralded by many as one of the best shows of all time.

Stream The Leftovers here.

Station Eleven

In a rare move for post-apocalyptic media, Station Eleven offers a more uplifting look at survivors in a pandemic-ravaged world.

What’s more, it’s really Canadian: the miniseries is based on the eponymous novel from Merville, B.C.’s Emily St. John Mandel, it stars Vancouver’s Mackenzie Davis (Halt and Catch Fire) and it was filmed in Mississauga, Ontario.

Stream Station Eleven here.

Disney+

The Mandalorian

Sure, it’s not a post-apocalyptic drama, but it’s also perhaps the most obvious choice on this list, given that it also stars Pedro Pascal as a badass protecting a child. And unlike The Last of Us, this Star Wars series is appropriate for all ages.

Stream The Mandalorian here. A list of where to stream other Pedro Pascal shows and movies can be found here.

Netflix

The Walking Dead

At this point, everyone knows TV’s quintessential post-apocalyptic zombie drama.

But the popular AMC series just wrapped its 11-season run in November 2022, which makes it especially worth including for those who fell off in recent years and maybe want to catch up.

Stream The Walking Dead here.

The 100

Based on Kass Morgan’s young adult novels of the same name, The 100 follows space habitants who return to Earth after a nuclear apocalypse and encounter descendants of the planet’s survivors.

Stream The 100 here.

Sweet Tooth

Good for all ages, this well-received post-apocalyptic fantasy-drama is about a human-deer boy who goes on a journey to find family and home with a gruff protector.

Notably, it’s based on the eponymous comic from Essex County, Ontario’s Jeff Lemire and has a second season coming on April 27th, 2023.

Stream Sweet Tooth here.

What are you planning to watch after The Last of Us? Let us know in the comments.

The Last of Us is streaming on Crave in Canada.

Image credit: HBO

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How The Last of Us rebuilt old Alberta hospital for action-packed finale

*Warning: full spoilers for The Last of Us Season 1 to follow* 

The Last of Us ended in a big way: a tense firefight in a hospital. Like many aspects of the HBO series, it was a faithful retelling of the events of the 2013 eponymous PlayStation game.

That includes the controversial decision that Joel (Pedro Pascal) makes at the end to take Ellie (Bella Ramsey) away from the Fireflies militia group’s lab, refusing to lose her to a surgery that could have produced a cure to save humanity. This leads him to kill a slew of Fireflies along the way.

In the Alberta-shot show, this is all meant to take place in a Salt Lake City hospital, but in real life, HBO used a hospital just outside of Calgary. Per Travel Alberta, this hospital is Grande Prairie’s Queen Elizabeth II Ambulatory Care Centre.

The Last of Us Joel and Ellie in hospitalSpeaking to Variety, production designer John Paino revealed some details about how his team turned the real hospital into the climactic battlefield we see in the show.

Interestingly, Paino notes that he originally thought they’d have to build a hospital from scratch, but they found a “disused” one — the Queen Elizabeth II Ambulatory Care Centre — to use instead. From there, he says the team repainted the hospital and aged it up to make it look believably weathered for the post-apocalyptic setting. He adds that the little murals you can see when Joel visits the paediatric wing are taken straight from the game, another testament to the series’ immaculate attention to detail.

Additionally, Paino says he thought the Fireflies would be using construction site-esque portable generators, so his team deliberately used dim lighting accordingly. He says this gives the setting “a dark and moody vibe,” which certainly fits with Joel’s harrowing actions. Meanwhile, plastic barriers were brought in and strewn about the facility as a “nod” to when infected people were being brought in earlier in the outbreak.

The Last of Us Marlene

Marlene (Merle Dandridge)

Elsewhere in the interview, Paino touched on the pivotal giraffe scene. While the Making of The Last of Us special already revealed that this was a real animal named Nobu from the Calgary zoo, Paino expanded on some of the work the team did with it. Impressively, he says the crew spent a month and a half setting up green screen panels in an enclosure containing Nobu while trainers kept the giraffe comfortable. This would allow Pascal and Ramsey to approach the giraffe and feed it while giving the VFX team the ability to make the filming location look like the building rooftop in the show.

“That’s Hollywood magic of [visual effects supervisor] Alex [Wang] isolating the giraffes and putting them on our set,” said Paino. “That was probably the most complicated piecing of VFX stage, scenery and location I’ve worked on.”

Over the course of the show, Paino has provided a slew of interesting behind-the-scenes looks at the production. This includes transforming Canmore — Pascal’s favourite place in Alberta — into Jackson, Wyoming and an old Calgary mall into an abandoned playground for Ellie and Riley (Storm Reid). Overall, he says he was “shocked” at how “clean” Alberta ended up being compared to the United States. 

The Last of Us is now streaming on Crave in Canada. Season 2 — which will partially adapt The Last of Us Part II — is currently in development, although a release window has yet to be confirmed. That said, Pascal recently suggested that it will once again film in Alberta.

Image credit: HBO

Source: Variety

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Pedro Pascal raves about Canada, suggests The Last of Us Season 2 will also film here

Pedro Pascal took some time during the Oscars to send some love to Canada.

Speaking to eTalk on the award show’s red carpet, The Last of Us star was asked whether Canada “did [him] proud” after filming the popular HBO series in Alberta for a year.

 

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“Incredibly proud,” Pascal responded. “We couldn’t have done it without Canada, frankly, because of its physical landscape, because of our crew. 12 months — I miss it.”

Notably, Pascal went on to say that “we’re going back,” suggesting that Season 2 of the series will once again film in Alberta — or, at least, elsewhere in Canada. This echoes comments from co-star Bella Ramsey, who told Comicbook.com she’s “really excited” to be “back in Canada” for Season 2.

It should be noted that HBO hasn’t yet made a formal announcement regarding where or even when The Last of Us‘ sophomore season might film. For all kinds of business reasons, changes could happen, especially since we’re presumably months out from the start of production. Still, Pascal and Ramsey’s comments now suggest that the current plan, at least, is to return to Canada.

Elsewhere in his brief chat with eTalk, Pascal was asked to give a shoutout to his “Canadian fans,” but that wasn’t enough for him.

“A big shoutout to my Canadian family — I miss you!”

Pascal has been quite open about his love of Canada during The Last of Us promotional circuit. Speaking to MobileSyrup ahead of the show’s premiere, the actor raved about “the warmth and the dedication” of the Canadian crew, saying that it ended up being “essential” to film here. He also gave a special mention to Canmore, which stood in for Jackson, Wyoming in Episode 6, calling it a “magical little town.”

The entire first season of The Last of Us is now streaming on Crave in Canada. A release window for Season 2 has not yet been revealed, although we know it will adapt The Last of Us Part II. That said, the creators have confirmed that at least two seasons will be needed to fully cover the events of the sequel.

While you wait for Season 2, here are several other Pedro Pascal shows and movies to stream in Canada.

Image credit: HBO

Source: eTalk

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Miss The Last of Us? Here are other Pedro Pascal movies and shows to stream in Canada

After nine exciting weeks, the first season of The Last of Us has officially come to an end on HBO Max and Crave.

While we know that at least one more season of the hit HBO series is on the way, it’s unclear when we’ll actually get that.

Naturally, then, we’re now all left with a Pedro Pascal-sized hole in our Sundays. While a predominantly helmeted Pascal can currently be seen in new episodes of The Mandalorian, that doesn’t help the many people who want to actually see the internet’s favourite daddy.

With that in mind, we’ve rounded up some of the prolific Chilean-American actor’s movies and TV shows. Naturally, this isn’t a comprehensive list, considering his career spans a few decades, but it does contain his biggest hits. Read on more where you can stream more Pedro Pascal content in Canada.

Crave

Game of Thrones

Pedro Pascal as Oberyn Martell in Game of Thrones

Image credit: HBO

Pascal’s breakout role came during another HBO series, Game of Thrones (notably, the same is true for his The Last of Us co-star, Bella Ramsey). His short but memorable seven-episode stint on the series saw him play the vengeful and lustful Oberyn Martell.

Stream Game of Thrones here.

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent

Pedro Pascal in Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent

Image credit: Lionsgate

While Tom Gormican’s 2022 action-comedy is focused on a fictionalized version of Nicolas Cage, critics agree that Pascal basically steals the show. His character, billionaire and Cage superfan Javi Gutierrez, hires the actor for a birthday party, leading them to develop a bit of a bromance amid increasingly wild antics.

Stream The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent here. The movie is also available on Prime Video via Starz.

Disney+

Kingsman: The Golden Circle

Pedro Pascal in Kingsman

Image credit: 20th Century Studios

In Matthew Vaughn’s Kingsman: The Secret Service sequel, Eggsy and his allies must protect the world from a CEO and her drug cartel. While the movie as a whole received a mixed reception, Pascal certainly was one of its better aspects, portraying the fun lasso-wielding American spy, Agent Whisky.

Stream Kingsman: The Golden Circle here.

The Mandalorian

The Mandalorian

Image credit: Lucasfilm

Of course, this is the most obvious answer. For many, this is the actor’s defining role, and the one with the most crossover with The Last of Us. In the Jon Favreau-created Star Wars series, Pascal plays the titular bounty hunter as he goes on adventures with a little creature named Grogu.

Stream The Mandalorian here.

Netflix

The Equalizer 2

Denzel and Pedro Equalizer 2

Image credit: Sony Pictures

In Antoine Fuqua’s second Equalizer movie, retired marine Robert McCall (Denzel Washington) seeks revenge after the murder of a friend. Notably, Pascal plays the villain, Duke York. Denzel and Pedro — what a combo!

Stream The Equalizer 2 here.

Narcos

Pedro Pascal Narcos

Image credit: Netflix

Inspired by true events, this acclaimed Netflix series explores the rise of the cocaine trade in Columbia and the efforts of the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) to combat it. Pascal has one of the main roles, Javier Peña, who’s a real-life DEA officer, appearing in all three seasons.

Stream Narcos here.

Triple Frontier

Triple Frontier Pedro Pascal

Image credit: Netflix

J.C. Chandor’s 2019 action-adventure flick follows a group of former U.S. soldiers who reunite for a South American heist. In the movie, Pascal plays Francisco “Catfish” Morales, the pilot of the group, which also includes Ben Affleck, Oscar Isaac, Charlie Hunnam and Garrett Hedlund.

Stream Triple Frontier here.

Miscellaneous

Dishonored 2

Dishonored 2 Paolo

Image credit: Bethesda

Given that we cover gaming on MobileSyrup, I’d be remiss not to mention that Pascal’s first and only video game role was in 2016’s Dishonored 2. In the acclaimed first-person stealth-action game, Pascal voices a gang leader named Paolo.

Dishonored 2 is available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC.

Wonder Woman 1984

Pedro Pascal WW84

Image credit: Warner Bros.

Patty Jenkins’ 2020 follow-up to her acclaimed 2017 Wonder Woman movie was largely panned, but most people agree that Pascal absolutely stole the show here as the charismatic businessman, Maxwell Lord. Life is good, but with Pascal as a delightfully unhinged villain, it can definitely be better.

The movie isn’t actually on any subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service, so your only option is to rent or buy on platforms like iTunes and Google Play.

What are your favourite Pascal performances? Beyond The Last of Us, what are you hoping to see him in next?

Let us know in the comments.

Image credit: Shutterstock

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Man travels to Pedro Pascal’s favourite Alberta town to recreate scenes from The Last of Us

Gabriel Luna and Pedro Pascal in a bar in The Last of Us

For Canadians, part of the fun of watching The Last of Us has been to spot all of the acclaimed HBO series’ Alberta filming locations. However, one fan has taken that admiration to another level.

On Instagram, Irish-Canadian photographer Mark Cogan posted images of Canmore, the town featured prominently in the series’ sixth episode, “Kin.” As part of this visit, Cogan held up stills from the show to match them with where they were filmed on the actual 8th Street in Canmore. These scene recreations include when Joel (Pedro Pascal) has an emotional reunion with his brother, Tommy (Gabriel Luna), and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) and Joel on horseback. In the show, Canmore stood in for Jackson, Wyoming.

 

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A post shared by Mark Cogan (@skymanblue)

Cogan also shared them with blogger Andrea David, whose larger audience helped the photos catch the attention of none other than Ramsey herself.

It’s unclear why Cogan picked Canmore, specifically, to visit, but it’s possible he was taking cues from Pascal and Ramsey themselves. The pair told MobileSyrup that it was their favourite place to visit in Alberta, with Pascal even calling it a “magical little town.” The most recent episode of The Last of Us, “When We Are In Need,” took Pascal and Ramsey to another snowy area, Waterton Park.

It’s worth noting that the season finale premieres on March 12th. The show has already been renewed for a second season, although it remains to be seen whether production will return to Alberta.

The Last of Us is now streaming exclusively on Crave in Canada.

Image credit: HBO

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The Last of Us cast and crew say Albertans were ‘pissed off’ but ‘so polite’

The creative team behind The Last of Us has opened up about how the people of Alberta responded to their year-long shoot in the province.

The comments came during Sony’s new ‘Creator to Creator’ series, which centres around a roundtable discussion behind some of the key figures behind HBO’s The Last of Us. This includes Neil Druckmann (co-creator of the show and game), Craig Mazin (co-creator of the series), Pedro Pascal (Joel), Bella Ramsey (Ellie) and Asad Qizilbash (head of PlayStation Productions).

In the first part of the series, Pascal mentioned how impressed he was that the production team “dressed entire areas of the downtown Edmonton and Calgary [areas].” In response, Ramsey smiled and said they “pissed off all the residents,” which elicited a chuckle from the group. “We shut off a highway!” Druckmann pointed out.

That said, Mazin noted that “they were so polite about it,” while Ramsey said “they loved it.” Pascal added that “they were really nice about it.”

This isn’t the first time The Last of Us team has praised Alberta. Speaking to MobileSyrup late last year, Mazin said the crew in the province was “fantastic,” while Pascal commended “the warmth and the dedication” of everyone involved. The series leads also said they loved the province’s landscapes, giving a special shoutout to the “magical little town” of Canmore.

Jeffrey Pierce, who plays Perry on the show and Tommy in the video games, also told us that his time in Calgary was “maybe my favourite experience filming [ever].” Meanwhile, production designer John Paino has said he was “shocked” at how “clean” Alberta was compared to the U.S.

Sony says Part 2 of the Creator to Creator series will drop next week, although it’s suggesting you watch the eighth episode, which premieres March 5th, beforehand.

Image credit: Sony

Source: Sony

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Pedro Pascal says The Last of Us Season 2 might film later this year

The second season of The Last of Us might begin filming later this year.

During an interview with Collider to promote The Mandalorian Season 3, Pedro Pascal, who stars as Joel on The Last of Us, was asked about the sophomore outing for the popular HBO series. While he noted that he couldn’t reveal much, he did tease that production could begin sometime in 2023.

“In the year 2023? Oh, what season are we in now? We’re getting into spring?” he said coyly. “Yes, there is a chance. Yes.”

The Last of Us was renewed last month after only two episodes had aired, with HBO saying the series had its second-biggest premiere ever after House of the Dragon. However, the network didn’t reveal any further details beyond confirming that it would adapt the 2020 PlayStation game The Last of Us Part II. Craig Mazin, co-creator of the series, has also indicated that at least two seasons may be needed to fully adapt the sequel.

For now, though, the first season of The Last of Us still has one more episode before its March 12th finale. It should be noted that we don’t actually know how far along Mazin and co-creator Neil Druckmann (co-director of The Last of Us) actually are in the writing process for Season 2, although Pascal’s comments suggest they might have made some significant progress already.

Another big question: where will The Last of Us Season 2 film? Most notably, Season 1 was filmed entirely in Alberta in what’s believed to be part of Canada’s largest TV production to date. Bella Ramsey, who stars opposite Pascal as Ellie, has also suggested that production could return to Canada, although HBO hasn’t made any official comment on the matter.

That said, the entire cast and crew have had nothing but positive anecdotes to share about their time in Alberta. In a recent interview with MobileSyrup, Pascal, Ramsey and Mazin raved about the province. John Paino, the series’ production designer, has also said how “shocked” he was at how clean Alberta ended up being.

It’s worth noting that Canmore — Pascal and Ramsey’s favourite filming location — stands in for Jackson, Wyoming in the series, and the first few hours of The Last of Us Part II are set in the American town. Therefore, it remains to be seen whether HBO will return to the Alberta location — or any others — for Season 2.

Image credit: HBO

Source: Collider

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The Last of Us’ Pedro Pascal suggests not doing mushrooms and watching hit show

There’s been a lot of talk of mushrooms on the internet thanks to HBO’s The Last of Us. The TV show’s apocalypse is all thanks to the Cordyceps fungus and its haunting effects. Series star Pedro Pascal has come forward with his thoughts on another fungus — the magic mushroom.

During an interview on Late Night with Seth Meyers, Pascal, who plays Joel Miller in the series, talked about working on set and his experiences with the show’s infected. Partially through the interview, Meyers asks Pascal whether working on The Last of Us has put him off from enjoying mushroom dishes like pasta.

“I love mushrooms. All kinds,” Pascal emphasizes. “The kinds in restaurants. The kinds that used to come in a little ziplock bag in the ’90s. And now the kinds that are in these colourful chocolates,” he continues.

Meyers then continues joking about ingesting some psychedelic mushrooms and watching The Last of Us. “That I would not do,” Pascal quickly interjects. “That might put you off it for good. So don’t do that.”

The Last of Us is heavily inspired by and based on the video game franchise from PlayStation’s Naughty Dog. Six episodes into the series and audiences have already faced very heavy and emotional narrative threads. Each episode sees Pascal’s Joel and Ellie, played by Bella Ramsey, cross the U.S. in hopes of finding a cure for the Cordecypt virus. Along the way, our two characters stumble upon a cast of characters and horrifying infected.

One infected in particular, dubbed Bloater, has recently built quite the acclaim online. Production and the VFX pulled no punches in replicating the giant enemy from the game and making it a horrifying threat on-screen during the fifth episode of the series. Comprised of grotesque fundal growths, the Bloater became the internet’s number one mushroom. The actor who played infected even went as far as to say “He seems to be a bit of a sex icon.”

Pascal’s comments on the combination of magic mushrooms and the widely successful HBO show are mainly in jest. However, it’s a good to keep in mind as we head toward the final three episodes of the season.

Source: Late Night with Seth Meyeres (YouTube)

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Pedro Pascal’s favourite place in Alberta appears in The Last of Us this week

When we spoke with The Last of Us stars Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, they had nothing but lovely things to say about Alberta as a whole.

But of all the places they visited during their year-long shoot in the province, there was one place, in particular, that stood out: Canmore.

“My favourite place that we went to was Canmore, for sure,” Ramsey noted, to which Pascal excitedly agreed. “Every inch of Canmore was just this magical little town… with really great fudge,” he added. (Sadly, we weren’t able to ask where he got said fudge.)

Now, we’re finally getting to see the small Alberta town in the hit HBO drama series. In the sixth episode, premiering February 19th, Joel (Pascal) and Ellie (Ramsey) head to Jackson, Wyoming to find Joel’s brother, Tommy (Gabriel Luna). As co-creator/co-showrunner Craig Mazin told us, Canmore was a “dead ringer” for Jackson thanks to its beautiful, snowy vistas.

It’s worth noting that The Last of Us has been renewed for a second season, which will adapt The Last of Us Part II. The game’s opening hours are also set in Jackson, so it remains to be seen if HBO will bring the production back to Canmore for these scenes. For now, though, we have Episode 6 (titled “Kin”) to enjoy, as well as the remaining three episodes.

Part of the appeal of The Last of Us has been to see all of Alberta’s stunning geography, and it’s something that the cast and crew have continued to praise. In a recent interview, Jeffrey Pierce, who plays Perry in the series and Tommy in the games, told us that his time shooting in Calgary was likely his “favourite” filming experience to date. John Paino, the series’ production designer, has also said that he was “shocked” at how “clean” Alberta ended up being.

If you want to follow along with the massive Canadian production, Travel Alberta has a tool that breaks down where each episode was filmed in the province.

The Last of Us is streaming exclusively on Crave in Canada.

Image credit: HBO