Jon Stewart says he never realized 'Daily Show' lighting designer was a dead ringer for Pedro Pascal
Jon Stewart never saw it coming.
After George Gountas, a lighting designer for Comedy Central's The Daily Show, took the crown at Sunday's Pedro Pascal look-alike contest in New York City, the host had him sit down for an interview. The Emmy winner admitted that he hadn't compared Gountas to The Last of Us actor.
"I've never noticed that he looks like Pedro Pascal," Stewart said.
He showed a picture of what Gountas looks like around the office — with no glasses, curlier hair on his head, and a beard on his face — to show why.
"Well, it's pretty funny," Gountas said of how he'd found out about the contest. "Tyler Goldman, stage manager, had a group text on maybe Wednesday last week. And he was like, 'Yo, you should go win a year of free burritos.' And I was like, 'OK.' And then I went home. And then on Friday, I showed it to my wife, and she was like, 'You're doing this.'"
Gountas explained that his neighbor is a stylist who supplied most of his wardrobe.
Gountas said he showed up to the contest without having reserved a spot.
"I rolled up and I'm like, 'Yo, I'm here,'" he said. "And they were like, 'You're going to win.'"
Stewart said that, now that he sees it, the resemblance between Gountas, 43, and the 50-year-old actor is "really crazy."
"You're a sexier, younger Pedro Pascal," Stewart joked.
He also wanted to know what Gountas' wife had to say about all the hubbub.
"Her position is, 'I'm cool with you getting all this attention, if I can meet Pedro Pascal.'"
Gountas then looked directly at the camera while making a personal plea to Pascal.
"Hey Pedro, this is Pedro #5 from New York. It would be a great, great, great gift if you could meet my wife, Jenny," Gountas said. "It would mean the world to her. We need to make this happen."
Gountas' wife, Jenny Gania, told the New York Post that others have noticed the resemblance her husband has to Pascal since the star played Oberyn Martell on Game of Thrones. More people have noticed as Pascal went on to star on Disney+ series The Mandalorian and portray Joel on The Last of Us.
When Gountas spoke to Stewart, he acknowledged that the attention he had received even in the first 24 hours after the contest was "f---ing insane.""So, none of this bothers me," Gountas added. "I've been in the industry for many years. I've been around famous people. But the thing that I was most, not scared of, the most uneasy about, was coming here today."
Gountas feels like the people on the show are like big brothers to him.
"And I knew I was gonna get roasted by my friends," he said.
At least he did win those burritos, plus $50.
Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly
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