2023 has been officially declared as the year of Pedro Pascal.

Pedro Pascal may have been acting for over a decade, but it's his recent acclaimed performances in The Last of Us and The Mandalorian&nbsp;that has catapulted him to the top of the Hollywood ladder. With his captivating personality, love for his fans, and now, high flare for fashion, Pascal is Hollywood's biggest It boy. Below, L'OFFICIEL rounds up seven things to know about everyone's favorite actor.&nbsp;

SNL Monologue | Saturday Night Live

Pedro Pascal Monologue - SNL

Pascal may have spent most of his life in America, but he was originally born in Santiago, Chile. At nine months old, his family sought out asylum to flee Chile's former dictator Augusto Pinochet. On an episode of <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/film-tv/snl-john-krasinski-phoebe-bridgers-first-shows-2021" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Saturday Night Live</a>, Pascal gives a slightly emotional monologue that touches on his childhood, and thanks his parents for all they did.

He studied at NYU Tisch School of the Arts.

Pascal attended Tisch in the '90s, where he would go on to graduate in 1997. Even with having a diploma from one of the best drama schools in the country, it would be years before Pascal would land his breakthrough role.

He was in Game of Thrones.

Speaking of breakthrough role, Pascal really came into the spotlight after starring as Prince Oberyn Martell in cult-favorite <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/film-tv/maisie-williams-lofficiel-new-mutants-got-interview-fashion" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Game of Thrones</a>. The late prince was known for his nimble fighting skills, charmed personality, and high sex drive&mdash;all before reaching an untimely death.&nbsp;

In a 2014 <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/26gtvt/i_am_actor_pedro_pascal_i_play_oberyn_in_game_of/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">"Ask Me Anything" Reddit thread</a> with his fans, Pascal unveiled that he used to be a competitive swimmer. "I was a competitive swimmer when I was a child. I went to the state championships in Texas when I was 11 years old. And then I got into drama class, and I let that go right away. I'm still very comfortable in the water," he wrote.

He trained in fighting before filming for Game of Thrones.

In the same 2014 Reddit chain, Pascal reveals that before filming began he was sent to learn martial art basics in preparation for his character. He was taught an acrobatic <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/film-tv/asian-marvel-superhero-shang-chi-and-the-legend-of-ten-rings-trailer" target="_blank" rel="noopener">martial art</a> called Wushu and also trained how to fight with a spear.&nbsp;&nbsp;

He was fired up to 10 times as a waiter.

Pedro Pascal Lie Detector Test | Vanity Fair

Pedro Pascal Takes a Lie Detector Test | Vanity Fair

Serving at restaurants isn't for everybody. When taking the lie detector test with Vanity Fair, Pascal shared he was fired "maybe close to 10 times." When asked why he wasn't a good waiter he said, "If I liked you, I liked you. If I didn't, I didn't. And that didn't necessarily go well with having a bunch of customers."

In an <a href="https://variety.com/2021/film/news/nicolas-cage-unbearable-weight-of-massive-talent-trailer-1235133044/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview with Variety</a>, Pascal calls himself Nicolas Cage's biggest fan&mdash;a compliment he shared as Cage sat next to him. "As a child, the kinds of performances that were imprinted into my experience were [Nicolas Cage's.] There isn't anything more surreal than I've done than to actually get to travel and go be on set with Nic and act with him and be his scene partner, because he's my biggest influence."

7 Things to Know About Pedro Pascal

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