Pedro Pascal is agnostic: ‘I think the idea of God can be really quite silly’

Premiere of HBO's 'Crashing' - Arrivals

While Matt Damon became the (white)face of The Great Wall’s promotional tour, it’s worth noting that hottie Pedro Pascal is also in the film. It’s not that I gave Pedro a pass, it’s just that there are limited opportunities for Latino actors and while Pedro doesn’t really belong in a film about a white guy saving China, I wasn’t going to bitch about it too much. Anyway, there’s one good thing about Pedro being in The Great Wall – there are new interviews with him! And he covers the latest issue of Solar Magazine, where he wears the “Bad Hombre” title with pride. He IS a Bad Hombre. The best Bad Hombre ever. Here are some highlights from the interview, plus some quotes from Pedro’s recent interview with Jorge Ramos:

On starring in the Kingsman sequel: “Kingsman 2 was a particularly interesting experience because it was like a g-ddamn circus of amazing movie stars: Halle Berry, Jeff Bridges, Julianne Moore, Colin Firth, Channing Tatum… It was actually extremely terrifying, but I think that the fan boy in me is so loud, that it over road the fear of being in that company.”

On Brexit: “I was in London when Brexit happened. It was dramatic how the atmosphere of the city changed over night. It was terrifying, sad and heartbreaking to see so many people shocked and bewildered by what they hadn’t predicted in terms of that vote.”

On religion and spirituality: “I don’t know what I believe in, at all, if anything I am a complete agnostic. I think the idea of God can be really quite silly. It’s not like spirituality is a foreign subject to me, but I personally haven’t developed any kind of relationship to it, but I do know that the most important thing is being a good person.”

He was a refugee, coming into America as a child: “I am a refugee, my parents fled Chile under Pinochet in 1976 when I was 9 months old, and my parents were able to start from nothing and make lives for themselves in the United States. I didn’t choose to come to the United States but being raised here has shaped exactly who I am today, and I can’t imagine that being taken away from me.”

[From JustJared & HuffPo]

I didn’t realize that he had been born in Chile and come to America as a baby. That’s such an interesting backstory. And it directly relates to all of those Dreamers who are now being rounded up by ICE and deported under Emperor Baby Fists. As for what he says about Brexit… I can imagine. I can imagine because it felt like that in America when Donald Trump won.

Premiere of Universal Pictures' 'The Great Wall' - Arrivals

Photos courtesy of WENN, cover courtesy of Solar.

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42 Responses to “Pedro Pascal is agnostic: ‘I think the idea of God can be really quite silly’”

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  1. Becky says:

    Being a GOT book reader he was perfect casting as the Viper, and I binge watched Narcos. Love him to bits.

  2. QQ says:

    I’m at best spiritual I guess but Organized religion isn’t my thing at all after being raised in a compulsorily Catholic country and then moving to the U.S to get wrapped up with Pentecostals…. NOOOOOPPPPE in dating I’ve made it a point to say I do NOT care for religious prudish guys… I like my sex non repressed and whatnot

    • Daisy says:

      But you can be religious and not a prude. I’m not religious, but I have a lot of religious friends ( mostly Catholic) and none od them are sexually repressed.

    • Beth says:

      The only religious person I know who has no sex life is my great aunt. She became a cloistered nun. When she was 16! Couldn’t speak until she became mother superior.

  3. laprincesita says:

    more coverage of him please! I love him too much!

    • ichsi says:

      YESSS! I love him too, even though he’s in Kingsman (HATED the first one), and the whole agnostic thing just made him 100 times sexier!! You and me both, man!

  4. Jess says:

    Well isn’t he a cutie, and charming. I’ll have to google more about him! I feel similar on certain religions, not that the people who believe in it are silly, whatever helps you be a better person I’m all for, but everyone has a different idea on what a good person should be, if it involves damning people who are Lgbtq to any type of hell or being a judgmental jerk then yes it’s silly. Personally I feel fulfilled with the idea of god or no god, nobody knows for sure and that’s ok, we’ll all find out eventually😄

  5. Ever bloom says:

    “The age of reason” by Thomas Paine had a huge impact on my life, it made me an agnostic and truly liberated me from the doubts I had always harboured in my heart.

    • adastraperaspera says:

      Thoreau’s “Walden” had the same kind of influence on me. I’ve always been so thankful for his perspective on organized religion in society.

  6. Jaii says:

    Thank you Kaiser for doing a Pedro post , god this man is beautiful!!

  7. Digital Unicorn (aka Betti) says:

    He has a ‘hot dirty sex’ vibe about him – am in.

  8. mia girl says:

    I am so happy you are covering him!! More Pedro!

    In person he has such a great, positive manner about him. He’s very at ease and so nice.

    Oh and, damn, he’s really, really sexy.

  9. Jay says:

    Yes, thank you. Pedro was actually very funny in the movie. And there are limited opportunity for Latinos in their 40’s to suddenly become movies stars, because Hollywood IS racist (white people get paid more – its a fact and its bullshit to be honest how business affairs works). So its amazing for him to be getting opportunities to have roles in blockbuster movies, as well as starring in a major Netflix series as the hero. Pedro is an incredible talent, an amazing human being, and deserves much better movies to star in. Plus he is a huge feminist!! More love for Pedro please!

    • laulau says:

      I’m pretty sure he is white, or predominately tho. He’s similar to Oscar Isaacs in that he can definitely get lots of types of roles and doesn’t immediately read as “other”… I think hollywood loves to say they embrace diversity by being all, ‘look, Penelope Cruz, Pedro Pascal” really the issue is partly cultural but much more race-based I think.

      • Jay says:

        I don’t think you get how Hollywood works. Its not as easy for him as non-Latino white stars. He has had to work very hard to get where he is and I think saying “oh well he’s white so its not as hard for him” diminishes things.

      • laulau says:

        Jay:
        maybe you’re right… to me, he could play De Niro’s kid (or Stallone’s or et cetera). to me he very much fits a mold that’s existed for a while.

        It occurs to me this might be why Oscar Isaacs changed his name from Hernandez, to avoid being turned down based on name alone.

      • Jay says:

        Right and its great that you see him that way, but Hollywood sees the name “Pedro” and puts him a box where he can play characters named “Juan” instead of “John” and it IS limiting. He really is an amazing, amazing actor. He should be the lead in so much more. He’s talented, handsome, charming, funny, and so so smart. But whether you consider him white or not, he is Latino. He’s a South American, and the US/Hollywood still has certain ideas and prejudices. I’m not ignoring colorism and there is certainly plenty of that in South america as well, but you can’t dismiss his struggle in the business when you don’t know him or his life.

    • Ana says:

      Jay is right, unfortunately. Latinos are the least represented minority in Hollywood in proportion to how many there are in the United States, and still they usually get stereotype roles. Even Pedro had to switch his surname to get a better chance, Pascal is his mother’s surname, his first surname is Balmaceda. Too spanish for Hollywood!

      • Jay says:

        Precisely Ana. Whereas his younger brother lives and works in Chile and can go by Lucas Balmaceda. There are many many talented Latino actors from the US and all over Latin America but they are pushed toward a certain market and particular roles, and its slow hard work to break that mold and that way of thinking. How many US market Latino movie stars are there? And how many brilliant Latino/Latina actors are there that deserve those roles, and better exposure and not just being a diversity hire on NCIS? Pedro in a blockbuster is a great thing and I hope he gets many more amazing offers, and that others are able to follow in his footsteps (like Juan Pablo Raba pls!)

  10. JennaR says:

    This just confirms my crush on him!

  11. Kiki says:

    Pedro Pascal is HOT.

  12. Beth says:

    I agree with him about the idea of God being silly. In a way it all seems like a fairy tale. I hope it’s real because so many have dedicated their lives to believing.

  13. Eric says:

    Bill Maher and George Carlin totally agree with Pedro.

  14. ell says:

    his description of what happened after the brexit vote is so spot on. i remember walking through st pancras station and looking at people’s faces (london was overwhelmingly remain) and everyone looked so sad and confused. i still feel sad and confused.

    what he says about his parents starting from nothing and making a life from themselves is so important. in britain atm there’s lots of talk of only wanting immigrants among the educated professionals, and you know, i’m an immigrant myself as i moved to britain as a child and my parents are educated professionals, so i was always one of the relatively lucky ones. but it breaks my heart, because i know so many immigrants and i have so many friends whose parents were immigrants, and like pedro’s family they started from nothing and built a great life for themselves. i can never agree with anyone who paints immigration and immigrants as something bad, and this current trend is absolutely scary.

    • Daisy says:

      I have friends whose parents were immigrants, highly educated, but the country they moved to didn’t ackonwledge their education so they had to start from scratch too

      • ell says:

        this, as well.

        there’s a poem by warsan shire (who’s an immigrant herself) called ‘home’ that says: “no one leaves home unless/home is the mouth of a shark/you only run for the border/when you see the whole city running as well” and it always makes me teary, being an immigrant. whether you’re running from our country because there’s a war raging, or just in search of a better life because job possibilities in your home country are limited, all you’re doing is trying to build a better future for yourself and your family. people ignore the massive sacrifices and the bravery it takes to be an immigrant. moving somewhere new, when you’re highly educated in your native country and having to start from scratch is SO hard, and no one chooses that unless it’s the better option.

    • Carryon says:

      Immigration debate is always so frustrating. My parents are immigrants from India, I was born in Britain and Pedro’s qoute about his attachment to USA really speaks to me. There are some people that think that immigrants do not love their country or does not adopt the culture. Just a trip around immigrant communities would shatter that view but hey… who needs to speak actual people if you can have prejudices instead.
      Although I have to say, I have huge problem with English left wingers. Whenever immigration issue comes up some useless posh leftie starts talking about curries and stuff and it is just…. so frustrating. I am amazed by English left’s ability of losing control of every fucking conversation that is taking place in the country. Brexit, Immigration, patriotism, refugees, Scottish independence etc. Labour is a disappointment at this point and we would not lose much if it just disbanded. We might even get a leftist party that actually works who knows..

      • ell says:

        ‘There are some people that think that immigrants do not love their country or does not adopt the culture. Just a trip around immigrant communities would shatter that view’

        100% this. every immigrant i know takes great pride in being part of the community and belonging to their new country. a few years back my family and i all got citizenship and we went out to celebrate, it was lovely. it’s infuriating when all arguments against immigration seem so ignorant.

        agreed about labour, it’s been the biggest disappointment. corbyn in particular needs to go, he’s bringing everyone down.

  15. Hype says:

    Religion drives me insane I’m from a Muslim family and I’m an atheist. My friends are Muslims and Sikh, sometimes it gets really hard because other than their modern feminism view when it comes to women and girls positions in our culture, other discussions can be hard.

    • jerkface says:

      I feel your pain and wish you peace. Its difficult when you are taught that you are less than because someone believes a god said so. And here you are in your body with your own thoughts and know full well you are more than what you are told.
      I believe I was born an atheist and I remember having discussion with people who didn’t understand my philosophy or my style of thinking as young as 5. My parents religion told me I was to be nothing but a mans servant and a birthing machine. I was shocked by those teachings. The older I’ve gotten the more free i have felt thanks to not being bound by religious laws. Sorry for rambling I just thought your post was interesting.

      • Hype says:

        Thanks for your reply. Your right it’s hard to heed something just because you are told you have to.
        I can’t just shut down my own thought process and instinct.

    • Persian says:

      Born as a muslim in a very backwards country …I have flipped flopped between being an agnostic and atheist
      I do believe I am liberated by the chains that Islam (or any other religion for that matter) puts on people. It’s even worse for women , LGBT , Minorities and so on
      Many many times people I know asked me how could you not believe in quran or the miracle that It is and I always reply back : I believe in human rights a lot more than quran and in this case word of men is stronger more logical than the word of your god

  16. Molly says:

    Back to back posts of Pedro and Michael Shannon! Oh, my heart!

  17. Babs says:

    He sexy. HE SEXY.

  18. Dr_Snark says:

    “I think the idea of Pedro Pascal can be really quite silly.” — God.

    • Pinetree13 says:

      Well if there was a god I would like to think he could understand why people wouldn’t believe when there is no proof, countless examples of horrible things happening to innocent children, a zillion different religions all claiming to be right and killing each other on the regular, but sure, god exists and he hates non-believers. He must be a really immature deity if that’s the case.