Pedro Pascal described the quirks of filming his Game of Thrones character Oberyn Martell's gruesome death, including falling asleep between takes.
In the Season 4 episode "The Mountain and the Viper," Oberyn faces off against Ser Gregor Clegane (Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson) in a trial-by-combat to prove Tyrion Lannister's innocence in the murder of King Joffrey. Their duel culminates in Ser Gregor gouging out Oberyn's eyes before succumbing to his wounds. "I got my head crushed in. It was the best part of the day," Pascal explained while guesting on the podcast Hot Ones. "It was so hot when we were shooting that scene. [Björnsson's] over me and he puts his thumbs into my eyes, and they've got tubing through his body and into his forearms and just pumping this cool blood...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, that shot of the two of us from above, and I was dead asleep."
Pascal went on to explain, "Because it was so hot and this stuff was so cooling to the touch and you had to be really, really still, and that was the most relaxing. And knowing also that we got to the end of this four-day fight that we were shooting out there, it was very cathartic and I went into the deepest sleep I've been in." He then joked, "I realize now that I'm not a very good sleeper. I need to be laid out with pieces of flesh -- gelatinous, cool to the touch face meat and pooling blood and maybe I'll finally get a good fucking night's sleep."
Pedro Pascal Has Come Far Since Game of Thrones
Since Game of Thrones, Pascal has gone on to become one of the biggest stars in genre television, including starring as Din Djarin in Disney+'s The Mandalorian. Like GoT, filming on the Star Wars spinoff presented its own unique challenges for Pascal, particularly while wearing the hero's signature helmet. "It puts you in the world so completely, and instantly makes the character feel real – but you can’t see shit!" he explained, adding that the visor is prone to fogging up and that he has no peripheral vision in the costume.
Game of Thrones ran for eight seasons and concluded its run in 2019. A prequel series, House of the Dragon, premiered in 2022 and takes place roughly 200 years before the events of the previous show. The prequel has received positive reviews and has been renewed for a second season, which is expected to release sometime in the back half of 2024.
Game of Thrones is available to stream on HBO. New episodes of The Mandalorian premiere Wednesdays on Disney+.
Source: YouTube