Ahead of the season two return of The Mandalorian, Pedro Pascal is featured in a new Variety profile, in which he has absolutely no delusions about the success of the hit Disney+ series. When it’s suggested that Pascal is “effectively the face of one of the biggest pop-culture franchises in the world,” the humble actor wasn’t having any of it, and he made it very clear who’s the real star. Via Variety:
“I mean, come on, there isn’t a face!” he says with a laugh that feels maybe a little forced. “If you want to say, ‘You’re the silhouette’ — which is also a team effort — then, yeah.” He pauses. “Can we just cut the s– and talk about the Child?”
Pascal is, of course, talking about Baby Yoda, who is officially referred to as The Child, for now. (The adorable little guy’s real name will eventually be revealed at a later date.) The animatronic puppet is a $5 million work of art that requires a team of dedicated puppeteers and VFX specialists to bring to life. It literally takes at least two people just to work his arms, and the commitment certainly paid off. The Mandalorian became an international sensation and one of the most watched streaming series of the past year.
While Pascal might be downplaying his contribution to the show, he does, however, note that he knew during his first meeting with showrunner Jon Favreau that The Mandalorian is the “next big s–.” Especially after he saw Baby Yoda pop up in the storyboards.
“Literally, my eyes following left to right, up and down, and, boom, Baby Yoda close to the end of the first episode,” he told Variety. “That was when I was like, ‘Oh, yep, that’s a winner!’”
(Via Variety)