Before he was a famous star, Pedro Pascal made a memorable guest appearance in an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Across seven seasons on The WB (and later on UPN for its final two years), Buffy the Vampire Slayer amassed a dedicated fan following and became one of the teen shows that defined the '90s. While there were plenty of overarching serialized storylines on the show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer became renowned for its spooky standalone monster-of-the-week plots bringing in characters who only stuck around for one episode and were usually killed off.
After almost two decades of playing minor roles in film and television projects, Pascal has quickly become one of Hollywood's most popular and sought-after actors, and was included on the 2023 Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world. Pascal first rose to prominence with ing TV roles as Oberyn Martell in Game of Thrones and Javier Peña in Narcos, and went on to play lead roles in critically acclaimed and highly rated shows like Din Djarin in The Mandalorian and Joel Miller in The Last of Us. But before all that, the famous Pascal had a guest appearance in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Pedro Pascal Played Eddie In Buffy The Vampire Slayer
Pascal played the one-off role of Eddie in Buffy the Vampire Slayer season 4, episode 1, “The Freshman.” The season began with Buffy and Willow enrolling at the University of California, Sunnydale, and the premiere episode saw them settling into campus life. Buffy meets Eddie when they’re both freshmen at UC Sunnydale, and they quickly become friends. The actor is credited as Pedro Balmaceda, and it marked one of his earliest TV appearances along with guest spots in Good vs. Evil, Downtown, and Undressed.
Buffy and Eddie instantly hit it off when Buffy helps Eddie find his dorm room on their first night at college. They’re excited to see each other again, but when Eddie doesn’t show up to the psych class he said he would attend, Buffy deduces that he’s been abducted. Unfortunately, she’s too late to save him from becoming a vampire and ends up killing him with a stake as he attacks her. Eddie’s story is ultimately a tragic one. He was a nice guy with a lot of promise, but after being turned into a vampire, he became a monster and there was no shred of the old Eddie left.
Eddie Mirrored Buffy's Feeling Of Isolation
Isolation is a prominent theme in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. As a result of being chosen to wield supernatural abilities to battle evil forces, Buffy is very selfless, but she feels very lonely and alienated, which makes her universally relatable. A lot of young people can identify with the feeling of isolation that comes with being different, even if they don’t possess superhuman strength. Buffy’s feelings of loneliness are amplified when she starts college. As an awkward freshman who feels like a social outcast even before he becomes a vampire, Eddie mirrors Buffy’s insecurities about being different and not fitting in, and gives her someone to relate to.