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.
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.
'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.'
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
38 minutes ago
- Yahoo
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. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Pedro Pascal he/him (@pascalispunk) 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. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Pedro Pascal he/him (@pascalispunk) '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.'
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Amol Rajan reveals how new documentary helped as he grieved dad's death
Amol Rajan has said making a pilgrimage to the Ganges for his new TV documentary helped him confront his dad's death. The University Challenge host's father died three years ago and he told how he had struggled with his grief, saying it "can really screw you up". So this year, Rajan travelled to India for the largest religious festival in history, the Kumbh Mela, to help him deal with his loss. Speaking on The One Show, he said the special journey had "made a big difference". Rajan was on the BBC programme on Monday, 23 June, and told how he took part in the Hindu pilgrimage earlier this year as he filmed Amol Rajan Goes to the Ganges. "My dad died three years ago and I think anyone watching this, you guys, if you have lost a parent, the first time you go through grief can really screw you up," he said as he chatted to presenters Alex Jones and Roman Kemp. "In my case it really, really did. "And I think that one of the natural reactions to grief is you try not to think about it because it's too sad because you miss that person too much. "After three years I just thought, you know what, I need to confront this a little bit, I need to stop denying it. And this was a chance to think about my dad, to reconnect with a kind of Hindu heritage but also just to try and sort of like, really confront my grief, and to stop sort of denying it. And I think it worked." Turning to fellow guests Michelle Collins and Sean Hayes, he quipped: "I mean, I look like a happy guy now don't I?" He added that the pilgrimage "made a big difference". "We got to the confluence of these rivers in India and it was truly, truly, truly magical. "I'd just say to anyone, even if you are not interested in Hinduism necessarily or pilgrimages, if you've been through grief and you are a little bit scared to confront it, I think this film is about someone who says, you know what, at some point you've got to face up to it," he said. "It does get easier," the TV star went on. "The weird thing about grief is that it's universal and everyone will go through it but every grief is particular, every grief is a grief for a particular relationship." Read more: Amol Rajan University Challenge viewers notice something 'impressive' about host Amol Rajan University Challenge fans convinced questions are getting 'longer and longer' Sir Ian McKellen reveals the only University Challenge question he has ever got right Discussing the festival, which was attended by half a billion people, Rajan said it was "completely nuts". "I was born in India, Hindu family, grew up here, not particularly religious, in fact I'm an atheist," he said. "But Hindus believe that every 12 years the lining up of Jupiter, the Sun, and the Earth, with the Moon, creates this special cosmic energy and it's all above those rivers, where these rivers have this amazing energy and if you bathe in the rivers, then Hindus believe you can basically emancipate your relatives from the cycle of death, birth and rebirth. "This was like, the twelfth, 12 yearly one, so it was like, the most auspicious thing for 144 years." Rajan also shared that his family had an "awkward moment" when it came to scattering his dad's ashes after he was cremated. "We spread his ashes in the river close to here, so the Thames in London," he said. "Rivers have a particular significance in Hinduism. "We had a slightly awkward moment where my mum said that the container was biodegradable and it turned out it wasn't, so I've got this idea that my dad is just bobbing along in the Thames somewhere!" The One Show airs at 7pm on BBC One on weekdays. Amol Rajan Goes to the Ganges airs on Wednesday, 25 June at 9pm on BBC One.


Tom's Guide
3 hours ago
- Tom's Guide
The average person spends $50 a month on streaming services — here's what I'd get for that money
Subscribing to the best streaming services can get expensive. In fact, it's expensive enough that I've even put together a list of how to save money on streaming services by bundling them with food delivery services. But when a recent survey by Solitaired found that the average person in the U.S. spends $50.15 a month on just video and TV subscriptions, it got me thinking — can you put together a great lineup of streaming services for just $50 a month? More importantly, what is the best lineup of streaming services you can put together on a $50 monthly budget? I did some digging, and I've come up with a list of seven streaming services that you can get for just $50 a month. This lineup gives you plenty to watch, with a great balance of new shows and movies, original content, live sports and deep libraries of classics. I had to make some painful cuts, but ultimately, I decided that this list of seven was the perfect list. So without further ado, here are the streaming services I'd get on a $50 a month budget. First, let's make sure we get the best bundle in streaming. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. No, I'm not talking about the Disney Bundle — I'm talking about the Disney Plus, Hulu and Max bundle. Max (soon to be HBO Max) is currently our top streaming service, thanks to its combination of HBO shows, Warner Bros. Discovery content and live sports. With this bundle, you also get everything Disney has to offer, thanks to the inclusion of Disney Plus and Hulu. Yes, you have to suffer through ads. And you lose the B/R live sports add-on that comes with the Standard Max plan. But in terms of value, this bundle can't be beat. This is the best streaming bundle out there. For $17 a month, you get HBO shows like "The Wire" and "The Last of Us," Hulu shows like "The Bear" and "Only Murders in the Building," as well as everything Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars. You also get a deep library of movies and shows across all three services that can't be beat. That's three streaming services out of the way, for the same price you'd normally pay for just the ad-free version of Max. The reason you can save all that money? Ads. As you'll see, every single one of these plans are ad-supported. Yes, ads suck, but they're pervasive to the point where suffering through them is just a part of life and streaming the latest hit shows and movies. Besides, the prices for the ad-free plans are now exorbitant because the streaming services want to be profitable. Ads allow them to make a profit, so if you opt out of ads, they have to jack up the price to maintain their profit margins. Netflix is no exception, so I'm opting for the Standard with ads plan at $8 a month. The good news here is you still get all the Netflix original shows and movies through this plan, as well as Netflix live events. You do miss out on some of Netflix's library of licensed shows and movies, but with seven streaming services full of content to watch, you'll hardly miss it. Netflix is the most popular streaming service for a reason. There are always new movies and shows to watch, including some of the most popular shows ever made like "Squid Game" and "Stranger Things." Even with ads, it's a must-have streaming service. Okay, so now we have the best streaming service (Max) and the most popular streaming service (Netflix). We also have the streaming service with all the Marvel and Star Wars you could ask for (Disney Plus) and the streaming service that's filled with Emmy-nominated shows (Hulu). So now, let's add a trio of streaming services with live sports — including NFL games — and deep content library, but not as many hit originals as Netflix and Max. First up? Paramount Plus Essential for $8 a month. This tier gives you tons of Paramount shows and movies, including hit originals like "Landman" and "MobLand." It also gives you the NFL on CBS and UEFA Champions League livestreams. You even get select Showtime shows, though those are mostly reserved for Paramount Plus Premium. Paramount Plus Essential is the ad-supported version of Paramount Plus. Yes, it has ads, but it also has most of Paramount's wide variety of movies and TV shows. You also get live sports, including the NFL on CBS and UEFA Champions League. Get a 1-week free trial today! Next up? Peacock Premium. Peacock Premium and Paramount Plus Essential are nearly identical services, just for different media conglomerates. They both even cost $7.99 a month. The only notable differences are Peacock calls its entry level plan "Premium" and pools together all of Comcast's content (NBC, Universal, Bravo, etc.) instead of Paramount's content. But since you're getting both, you don't really need to worry about those differences. Peacock Premium gives you tens of thousands of hours of original and licensed content, including new NBC and Bravo shows, as well as wide variety of live sports, including the English Premier League. Peacock may not be the most popular streaming service, but it gives you a lot for just $8 a month. "The Office," "The Traitors" and "Poker Face" are all must-watch shows and NBCUniversal has a deep library of incredible movies. Add in live sports from the NFL, NBA (starting 2025-26 season) and the English Premier League, and it's a no-brainer to add Peacock to your streaming lineup. Finally, for just $9 a month, you can add Prime Video. Again, this service is pretty similar to Paramount Plus and Peacock. It's got tons of original shows and movies from Amazon MGM Studios, like "Fallout" and "The Boys," and has plenty of live sports. It's even adding the NBA for the 2025-2026 season (as is Peacock). Now, the one caveat here is that Prime Video is included for free in Amazon Prime. So if you already have Prime, you don't need to pay for Prime Video. If that's the case, take the $9 you just freed up in your monthly budget and add AMC Plus for $7 a month, which comes with the incredible horror streaming service Shudder. Or, spend just a little extra and get Apple TV Plus, which at $10 a month will put you just a dollar over budget. For "Slow Horses" season 5, that's arguably a dollar well spent. But for this exercise, I'm going to assume you don't have Amazon Prime, just like I'm assuming you don't get Peacock for free via your Xfinity internet subscription or one of the above streaming services for free from your cell phone provider. I know these deals exist, and you should definitely take advantage of them if you can, but I want to just put together the best roster of streaming services you can buy for $50. If you already have Prime Video through Amazon Prime, then you know why it's a service worth having. Shows like "Fallout" and "The Boys" are some of the best shows of the past decade and Prime Video also brings a deep library of movies, both from MGM Studios and other licensed a 30-day free trial today If you sign up for all seven of these, you'll hit $50 exactly. You'll also get all the following content (and more): That's an incredible amount of content available to you to watch. You'll never make it through all of it in a given month, and you won't miss out on many of the best shows and movies to come out in a given month either. Arguably, you don't even need a live TV streaming service (or cable) if you subscribe to all seven of these. Despite that streaming services are just getting more and more expensive, I was pretty impressed by how much $50 will still get you. Malcolm has been with Tom's Guide since 2022, and has been covering the latest in streaming shows and movies since 2023. He's not one to shy away from a hot take, including that "John Wick" is one of the four greatest films ever made. Here's what he's been watching lately: