Pedro Pascal and The Walking Dead star Steven Yeun recently discussed their shared experiences dealing with zombies, collaborating and learning from their co-stars, and their knowledge of video games. The two actors have steadily risen as A-list celebrities in the past years, but they recently further solidified their status in their roles in HBO's The Last Of Us and Netflix's Beef, respectively.
Pascal and Yeun have easily dominated the TV landscape this year. Pascal's portrayal of Joel, a solemn and lonely father trying to survive the apocalypse, in HBO's adaptation of The Last Of Us has been critically acclaimed; he is predicted to receive multiple Emmy nominations in the upcoming award season. Likewise, Yeun's character of Danny Cho in Beef, a maintenance person who is financially struggling and is trying to make a living as a mechanic, has given lots to talk about at Netflix and has also been praised and cataloged as a favorite to bring home a statue at the next Emmy Awards.
The pair was recently featured in Variety's Actors on Actors, a series where two performers engage in intimate one-to-one conversations about their craft and provide insight into their creative work. In their episode, Pascal and Yeun did not hesitate to bring up one of their common denominators: zombies. With Pascal starring in the post-apocalyptic series and Yeun previously appearing in The Walking Dead, the duo discussed how their distant connection entertained them and even helped their work. "I feel weirdly connected to you in a multitude of ways," Yeun told Pascal, "one is when I was shooting The Walking Dead— a show that is kind of spiritually connected to your show— The Last Of Us game came out, and I played it 12 hours straight."
Pascal reminisced about watching The Walking Dead for the first time and forecasting Yeun's successful career. The Last Of Us star also admitted to knowing next to nothing about the video game before his involvement in the show, and it was his nephews who educated him on the matter. The actors also got to examine their collaborations with their co-stars. Pascal reflects that, despite their age, co-star Bella Ramsey provided thought-provoking insights on their characters and how he relied on them during filming. For Yeun, Ali Wong brought a sense of professionalism on set while also serving as a confidante and reliable colleague.
Season 18 of Variety's Actors on Actors is available to stream on YouTube. The series is usually an accurate forecast of whom the front-runners for the upcoming Emmy Awards will be. Although The Last Of Us and Beef season 1 have ended, the two actors have some projects lined up in the future. Pascal will soon be seen in the psychological thriller Tropico, the comedy titled The Uninvited, and HBO's drama series My Dentist's Murder Trial. On the other hand, Yeun will star in Marvel Studios' Thunderbolts and Bong Joon-Ho's next feature film, which remains untitled.
The Last of Us is available on Max, and The Walking Dead is streaming on AMC Plus.
Source: Variety