Pedro Pascal got his start in the acting world with short films in the 1990s after attending New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, and while it might have taken him nearly 20 years to get his breakout role, he has proven his talent with his best movies and TV shows of recent years. Pascal made a living appearing in one-off television show roles in the 1990s, including an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but he has successfully transitioned into much more substantial roles.

Following his 2014 break with a ing role in Game of Thrones, Pedro Pascal has become a household name. He has become part of some of the biggest franchises, including being cast in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Fantastic Four. Pascal is set to have a huge year in 2025 with some of his biggest projects yet coming out, but these movies and TV shows are Pascal’s best right now.

15 The Equalizer 2 (2018)

As Dave York

When The Equalizer first came out in 2014, it was a big success, ushering in a new action franchise for iconic actor Denzel Washington to take charge of. Washington followed that success with The Equalizer 2, opening up the universe in much bigger ways than the first one, while also having all the explosive, creative kills that the franchise has become known for. While The Equalizer 2 is often more of the same, that isn't necessarily a bad thing, as Denzel Washington is incredible in all three films.

Pedro Pascal was able to the franchise for The Equalizer 2 as he plays Dave York, another former CIA operative who became a freelance assassin, and was the friend and partner of Denzel Washington's Robert McCall, as the two come into conflict during the movie. It's a hard task acting alongside a true legend like Washington, but Pedro Pascal rises to the occasion with his role as Dave York, giving his character complexity and having great chemistry with Denzel throughout.

14 Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)

As Maxwell Lord

He has some intense scenery chewing that will make everyone watching glad he has the chance to be in a different superhero project.

While superhero fans will readily agree that Wonder Woman 1984 did not exactly live up to the first movie, they will also likely agree that Pedro Pascal’s work in the movie is still fantastic. He has some intense scenery chewing that will make everyone watching glad he has the chance to be in a different superhero project.

Wonder Woman 1984 explores what Diana (Gal Gadot) is up to in the titular year, set during her past in the DC Extended Universe. Pascal is one of the villains in the movie. He plays Maxwell Lord as a desperate man just trying to save his company at first. The power of the movie’s artifact, however, only makes him desire more and more, his desperation becoming a thirst for power and success.

Pascal plays the role to perfection despite the script being muddled and the movie being ill-regarded by about half of the audience.

13 Triple Frontier (2019)

As Francisco "Catfish" Morales

Directed by J.C. Chandor (A Most Violent Year), Triple Frontier focuses on a group of former U.S. Army Delta Force operators as they reunite to plan a heist against a South American crime lord. Often thrilling and beautifully shot, Triple Frontier is a solid film with an ambitious story to tell. It's also quite brutal throughout with some great action set pieces thrown in for good measure. Of course, the cast is stellar, led by a grizzled Ben Affleck.

Triple Frontier 2 is currently in development, but not much else is known about the sequel.

Pedro Pascal s the rest of the heist group in Triple Frontier, as he plays Francisco "Catfish" Morales, one of the five of the team. While he didn't get as much time to shine as some of the other characters in the movie, Pedro Pascal helps make Catfish one of the most interesting and endearing characters in Triple Frontier, an essential piece of what keeps it ticking.

12 Freaky Tales (2024)

As Clint

Freaky Tales is an ambitious film set in 1987 Oakland that tells four different, but interconnected stories, of various characters: an NBA star, a corrupt cop, a female rap duo, and more, as their stories take place in real locations at real historical events. Freaky Tales is often funny throughout and highly entertaining, as the ensemble cast of characters really keep things going right from the very start, as each character is so different from each other.

Pedro Pascal is one of those characters, as he plays Clint in Freaky Tales, a debt collector who is getting out of the business due to his wife being pregnant, but things don't go as planned, and he is thrust onto a path of vengeance. Pedro Pascal is always incredible at portraying haunted characters, and he does incredible work as Clint in the film, really driving home the weight of his predicament and what he would do to push through it.

11 Prospect (2018)

As Ezra

A grounded, personal science fiction film, Prospect focuses on a teen girl named Cee who lands on a poisonous forest moon with her father, Damon, as they attempt to mine for valuable gems, and encounter dangerous roadblocks along the way. While the film itself is ambitious, the low-budget nature of Prospect forces the movie to really focus in on its characters rather than the science-fiction spectacle it could have been, and it is all the stronger for it as well.

Sophie Thatcher and Jay Duplass are great in the roles of Cee and Damon, but Pedro Pascal does just as well, as he plays Ezra, a rival prospector, who first comes in with them after he was planning to rob them. Eventually, Ezra reluctantly partners up with Cee as the two carry out a specific plan, which really allows the two actors a lot of time to work off each other, as their interactions slowly peel back who they are as characters.

10 Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017)

As Whiskey

Kingsman: The Golden Circle is a divisive chapter in the franchise. Fans believe the Kingsman movie made a few mistakes, but one of those mistakes did not include the casting of Pedro Pascal. Pascal clearly has a lot of fun getting to play in the franchise.

While the first movie in the franchise focuses on developing Eggsy (Taron Edgerton) as a character and seeing him learn how to be both a gentleman and a spy, the second movie takes Eggsy on a mission involving meeting the American version of his own organization. Pascal is a member of the American team whose codename is Whiskey. At first, he seems like the typical caricature of a modern American cowboy, but he also becomes much more layered - and much more angry - than that.

Pascal gets to make a surprising heel turn in the movie that fans loved to watch unfold. He gets to be reckless and somehow calculating at the same time. Pascal helps to make the movie incredibly fun.

9 If Beale Street Could Talk (2018)

As Pietro Alvarez

If Beale Street Could Talk is a fantastically done drama, and the only reason it does not rank higher among Pedro Pascal’s best movies and TV shows is because Pascal is not actually in the movie much. The role he plays is a small one, but it does show he has no problem being a smaller part of a large ensemble in a great project.

If Beale Street Could Talk was nominated for three Golden Globes, winning one, and three Academy Awards, winning one.

The movie follows a young black woman and her boyfriend when he is accused of sexual assault. While he has an alibi for the time of the assault, he is picked out of the lineup by the survivor. The young woman has to deal with her pregnancy and her boyfriend’s incarceration as the movie demonstrates the difficulty of dealing with systemic racism (and some that is not so systemic) when it comes to legal matters.

Pascal plays a person who gets the man’s family in with the survivor so they can hear her side of the story. His role is not one of the most dramatic in the movie, but it plays an important part in moving the story forward.

8 The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent (2022)

As Javi Gutierrez

The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent quickly became known as one of Nicolas Cage’s best movies following its release. Thanks to Cage playing a heightened version of himself in the action-drama, the movie manages to hit the sweet spot for Cage fans. Pascal, however, keeps up perfectly with the veteran actor and even steals plenty of scenes from him.

...Cage and Pascal at the top of their respective games.

The movie sees Cage experiencing a slump in his career and a strained relationship with his family Pascal’s Javi is a Cage superfan who offers to pay him a huge sum of money to attend his birthday celebration. When Cage goes to meet him, Javi also pitches making a movie with him. Cage is approached by the CIA, who believe that Javi is not just a wealthy eccentric, but an arms dealer and kidnapper.

The movie is off the wall with fantastic action sequences and the perfect balance of comedy and drama. It makes for a pretty perfect movie with Cage and Pascal at the top of their respective games.

7 The Uninvited (2024)

As Lucian

The Uninvited is a lovely little dramedy that revolves around an actress named Rose who has become a homemaker who hosts a party alongside her Hollywood agent husband, Sammy, in an attempt to impress a client. After an elderly woman arrives claiming that the house once belonged to her, the facade is dropped and things begin to get tense. Featuring some incredible performances across the board, The Uninvited is an emotionally resonant film that can sneak up on anyone despite appearing a bit subtle on the surface.

Pedro Pascal is simply incredible in The Uninvited, especially alongside Walton Goggins' Sammy, as they are two of the best actors working today. He plays Lucian, a Hollywood star who has a history with Rose that led to Sammy feeling nothing but contempt for him, but he is invited to the party and Sammy is supposedly done feeling jealous, but that certainly isn't the case. Pascal steps effortlessly into the role of Lucian, giving him more complexity than he might seem in general.

6 The Wild Robot (2024)

As Fink

The Wild Robot is one of the few animated movies to hit theaters in 2024 and one of Pedro Pascal’s most recent movies. It continues his trend in recent years of playing father figures on the screen, though this time around, that father figure happens to be a fox.

The movie involves a robot ending up stranded on an island following a storm wrecking the cargo ship she was on. While on the island, she bonds with some of the animals and struggles to make her way, ending up raising a goose whose nest she accidentally destroyed.

The Wild Robot was nominated for four Golden Globes and 10 Annie Awards.

Pascal voices Fink, the first animal that the robot befriends when she actually protects the young goose from him. The robot, Fink, and the goose end up as a kind of found family, living together and helping one another. It’s a great showcase of Pascal’s voice work as he gets to be charming and cunning without actually appearing on screen.

While the movie received several nominations from various critical circles, ScreenRant also named it the best animated movie of 2024.