Pedro Pascal Guest-Starred On (And Was Killed Off Of) Buffy The Vampire Slayer

Sometimes, getting killed by a vampire and brought back from the dead is just a necessary step toward success in show business. Though he's one of the biggest stars in Hollywood today, Pedro Pascal's path to fame wasn't an easy one. Pascal's best TV show roles came after years of grinding, at times struggling to keep afloat financially while scraping together minor parts on shows like "Law & Order" and "NYPD Blue." One of his more notable roles in those early days was in a 1999 episode of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" — then one of the hottest shows on television — in which the young Pascal played directly opposite star Sarah Michelle Gellar.

The "Buffy" Season 4 premiere, "The Freshman," sees Buffy and company starting their first year as college students at UC Sunnydale. Pascal, credited in the episode as "Pedro Balmaceda," plays disoriented freshman Eddie, who shares a tender moment with Buffy as they walk to their dorms one evening. Sadly for Eddie, he becomes the prey of a local vampire gang that same night, and, when he returns to life as one of their number, Buffy stakes him dead.

Pedro Pascal has often been candid about his difficult early years in the acting industry — and how close he came to giving up on his dreams entirely. "My entry level lasted about 15 years," the actor told Entertainment Tonight in 2024, shortly after winning a Screen Actors Guild Award for his performance in "The Last of Us." During that time, support from the acting community and SAG helped keep him on the path.

"We're talking about being able to see a doctor, getting sick, getting a surgery, paying my rent when I had less than $7 in my account, and a residual from 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' showed up and saved the day," Pascal explained. He called that particular job "the reason I was able to stay in it and not give up."

Though the "Buffy" check may have kept him in the game, it was still many more years before Pascal landed his breakout role on "Game of Thrones." In the interim, he appeared in everything from that forgotten "Burn Notice" prequel movie to "Nurse Jackie," "The Adjustment Bureau," and even the short-lived 2011 "Charlie's Angels" reboot.