Pedro Pascal opens up about grief and life without his mother: 'I feel her witness all around me'
Pedro Pascal isn't afraid to be vulnerable. Even more than his acting prowess, charming good looks and 'internet boyfriend' status, the actor is beloved for his candor — and his willingness to talk about grief.
Pascal opened up about losing his mother, María Verónica Pascal Ureta, to suicide when he was 24 in a new interview with Vanity Fair. Life without Verónica, a child psychologist, who fled Chile when Pascal was just a baby, hasn't been easy. But Pascal recently revealed that he finds comfort in knowing she's still with him.
'I still feel like I'm being mothered sometimes. I feel her witness all around me. I don't feel like any of this right now would be happening if it weren't for her,' he told Vanity Fair for its July cover story.
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The 'any of this' that Pascal refers to is likely his catapult to superstardom. With Materialists out, the first of Pascal's three movies to play in theaters this summer, the once struggling actor is finally being appreciated by the masses. With a seemingly unending filming schedule and a diverse collection of projects, it looks like the tide has finally turned for the 50-year-old actor.
Throughout his recent success, he has paid tribute to his late mother. The Vanity Fair interview is just the latest example of that.
While chatting with People in 2020, the Last of Us star recalled what it was like to grow up with her.
'She was always incredibly supportive, never a stage mom,' he said. 'I always felt like she knew something that I didn't.'
While the Eddington actor has admitted to always being protective of his siblings — older sister Javiera, younger sister Lux and younger brother Nicolás — losing his mother strengthened his paternal instinct.
'They were very young kids, so much younger than me and my older sister, so even if they hadn't lost a parent, we would still feel parental toward them,' he also told Esquire in 2023. 'And I didn't naively think I could fill a space like that, but I just always wanted to be like, I'm here.'
One of Pascal's major career milestones, when he hosted Saturday Night Live for the first time, coincided with the anniversary of his mother's passing. In the stressful week leading up to his episode, which aired live on Feb. 4, 2023, Pascal sought comfort in his mother. It was in these moments of panic, while preparing for SNL, that Pascal felt as though his mother was with him, guiding him through it.
'I just felt like my mother was there. And — and I don't know what else to say. It was a complete transformation of an anniversary,' he told Vanity Fair.
Pascal, during his 2023 interview with Esquire, shared what he said to his mother after a long day of rehearsing for his episode of SNL.
''I love you. I miss you. Thank you. I'm scared,'' he recalled saying. ''I would love it if you would help me believe in myself, because I know you do. You know?''
While he often speaks of the grief of losing his mother, Pascal seldom posts about her on social media. His latest post about her was made in February 2021, celebrating her birthday.
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'Mom, here you are in Denmark at 22,' reads Pascal's translated caption. 'Married, a refugee, and a mother of two. Years later you get two more, another son and another daughter. We're doing great, we're taking care of ourselves. Not a day goes by that you are not with us and we thank you for that. Happy birthday, mom.'
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