Emmy nominee profile: Pedro Pascal (‘Saturday Night Live’) seeks honor for hosting debut
When the 2023 Emmy nominations were announced, Pedro Pascal made history as the first person to instantaneously go from having zero to three TV academy acting notices. His recognized body of work as a star of “The Last of Us,” narrator of “Patagonia” and guest host of “Saturday Night Live” serves as a full display of his talent, with his performance on the NBC sketch series being the strongest showcase of his versatility. If voters feel compelled to honor him somewhere, the choice to support his Best Comedy Guest Actor campaign may be rather simple.
Pascal made his “SNL” hosting debut on February 4, 2023, three weeks after “The Last of Us” first premiered on HBO. The actor kicks off the episode – which features music from Coldplay and a cameo from his friend and colleague, Sarah Paulson – with a monologue focused on his thriving career and then embodies a wide array of characters in six live and two prerecorded sketches. Some of his most memorable moments involve him playing an overprotective mother meeting her son’s girlfriend, a marginally rude Italian waiter, and a man who speaks strangely after waking from a coma.
SEE 2023 Emmys: Complete list of nominees
Pascal, who follows Will Geer (1978) as the second man to ever compete for three performing Emmys at once, began building his small screen resume with a 1999 guest appearance on USA’s “Good vs Evil.” Since then, he has played one-off characters on “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “NYPD Blue” and three shows in the “Law & Order” universe as well as recurring or regular roles on “The Good Wife,” “Game of Thrones” and “Narcos.” He has also spent the last several years portraying the titular lead character on Disney Plus’ “The Mandalorian,” the first live action TV series in the “Star Wars” franchise.
A total of 22 men preceded Pascal in earning Emmy nominations for special “SNL” appearances, beginning with eventual three-time contender Justin Timberlake in 2009. Aside from Timberlake, who prevailed on his first outing and then again in 2011, the category’s “SNL” winners list consists of dual champs Jimmy Fallon (2012, 2014) and Dave Chappelle (2017, 2021) and 2020 victor Eddie Murphy.
SEE Watch dozens of interviews with 2023 Emmy nominees
Included among Pascal’s competitors in this race are past winners Luke Kirby (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” 2019) and Nathan Lane (“Only Murders in the Building,” 2022), returning nominee Sam Richardson (“Ted Lasso”), and category newcomers and “The Bear” cast mates Jon Bernthal and Oliver Platt. Platt was previously recognized in the drama guest category (for “The West Wing” and “Nip/Tuck”), as was Lane (for “The Good Wife”) before he finally took last year’s comedy prize following bids for “Frasier,” “Mad About You” and “Modern Family.”
This article is part of Gold Derby’s “Emmy nominee profile” series spotlighting the 2023 acting contenders.
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