Game of Thronesstar Pedro Pascal has revealed that he fell asleep during one of the show’s bloodiest and most brutal scenes. The star mentioned the anecdote during an interview about his recent successes.
Based on George R.R. Martin’s critically acclaimed seriesA Song of Ice and Fire,the HBO adaptationGame of Thrones(so named after the first book in the series) captivated audiences from its very first episode, bringing a previously unseen level of unpredictability to mainstream fantasy stories and giving way to one of the most successful spinoffs of all time, withHouse of the Dragon’s premiere marking HBO’s highest-viewed debutever. The show also created several unforgettable characters, including Pascal’s charismatic Red Viper of Dorne, Prince Oberyn Martell.
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Pascal, who manymay consider the ultimate franchise actor, revealed in an interview withHot Onesthat one of his most gruesome scenes was deceptively relaxing. “I got my head crushed in. It was the best part of the day,” Pascal said of his character’s brutalGame of Throneson-screen death at the hands of The Mountain that Rides. “It was so hot when we were shooting that scene. He’s over me and he puts his thumbs into my eyes and they’ve got piping — or tubing — through his body into his forearms to his thumbs pumping this cool blood. So gentle, like the gentlest guy ever. I felt no pressure at all, he was so hyperaware of it.”
Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson, the man behind theGame of Thrones' Mountain and arather interestingAge of Empires 4video, was seemingly so gentle that the supposed victim soon found himself nodding off. “There were all of these fleshy bits that they were placing all over my face and pumping blood so that it would pool and spread through the amphitheater for this good wide shot of us from above. And I was dead asleep,” Pascal admitted. “It was so hot and this stuff was so cooling to the touch and you had to be really really still. That was the most relaxing and knowing also that we had gotten to the end of this four-day fight, it was very cathartic and I went into the deepest sleep I’ve been in.”
ThisGame of Thronesanecdote had fans in stitches, with Pascal also jokingly remarking on the eye gouging, “And maybe in this interview as well. I can beg you to gouge my eyes out and collapse my skull in case it gets really bad.” The easy humor and relaxed recollection displayed here counters his stoicism onThe Mandalorian, with both being massively appealing. This range and ability to take on roles that oppose his friendly nature are one of the reasons he’s one of thebest characters on HBO’sThe Last of Usand other projects.
