- "The Last of Us" episode 6 director Jasmila Žbanić said that Pedro Pascal was a "generous" actor.
- Žbanić said that Pascal cried during every take for the sake of his scene partner, Gabriel Luna.
Jasmila Žbanić, who directed episode six of HBO's "The Last of Us," said that Pedro Pascal was an incredibly "generous" actor on set, performing full-out during every take of a scene with Gabriel Luna even when he wasn't the one being filmed.
The episode "Kin" saw Pascal's Joel reunited with his brother Tommy, played by Luna. After a euphoric but difficult reunion, the siblings had a sobering conversation about Joel's fear of being unable to protect Ellie (Bella Ramsey).
"It's a very emotional scene for Pedro. I was filming him as a second; first we filmed Gabriel, and then I noticed that each time we repeated, Pedro was crying," Žbanić told Variety in an interview. "He was not on camera, but he was crying because he was giving his partner everything so that he can act."
By this point in the show, Joel and Ellie have traveled across the country together from Boston, in the hopes of delivering Ellie to a group of Fireflies who hope to use her natural immunity to the cordyceps fungus to develop a cure. Citing his fear that he's going to get Ellie "killed," Joel asks Tommy to escort Ellie to a nearly Firefly outpost. Throughout the conversation, he becomes teary.
Žbanić told Variety that the delicate exchange was "especially taken care of," with Pascal and Luna trying multiple different takes on the material and suggesting changes of their own. Pascal's dedication while filming struck her as well.
"This is very special," Žbanić said. "It's so generous of an actor to do this so deep. I was amazed by Pedro's talent."