The 1993 movie that gave Pedro Pascal a core memory: “We were all sobbing by the end of it”
Every actor has a film that stays with them. For Pedro Pascal, it was a little-known psychological drama that left an unforgettable mark.
One of the most compelling aspects of Pascal’s career is that he has been open to all types of roles in many different genres. While it was his charismatic performance on HBO’s Game of Thrones that helped to make him a household name, Pascal has also taken opportunities to flex his comedic muscles, having been praised for his work on Saturday Night Live.
There’s no one type of film that Pascal seems interested in making in; in 2025 alone, Pascal appeared in a dark crime comedy (Freaky Tales), a Covid-era satire (Eddington), a classical romantic dramedy (Materialists), a massive superhero blockbuster (The Fantastic Four: First Steps), one of the best animated films of the decade (The Wild Robot), and the second season of a highly-acclaimed video game adaptation (The Last of Us).
If there’s a director who seems to take the same approach as Pascal does to acting, it’s the Australian genius Peter Weir, who has seemingly been retired since the release of his 2010 World War II epic The Walk. Weir may have begun his career making arthouse films in the Australian New Wave, but he steadily became a reliably Hollywood journeyman who made several prestige dramas that attracted major movie stars.
Many of Weir’s films were instantly regarded as classics, such as Witness, Dead Poets Society, and Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, all of which received nominations at the Academy Awards for ‘Best Picture‘. Although his 1993 drama Fearless wasn’t as big of a sensation upon its debut, Pascal said that the film blew his mind when he first saw it in New York.
“There were eight of us sitting next to each other,” Pascal said. “As I remember, we were all sobbing by the end of it.”
Fearless stars Jeff Bridges as a man who survives a plane accident, which leaves him both traumatised and fascinated by his seemingly miraculous survival. Although he attempts to have a semblance of normality by returning to the routines of his life, the film gets darker and more existential as he seems to toy with the notion of his own death. Weir had been going down a trend of making more traditional dramas, but Fearless had the wild experimentation that was reminiscent of his early work on Picnic at Hanging Rock and The Last Wave.
Fearless wasn’t necessarily dismissed at the time of its release, as most reviews were positive; although Bridges earned raves for his performance, it was Rose Perez who ended up getting an Academy Award nomination for ‘Best Supporting Actress’. However, Fearless has aged particularly well as a film about spiritualism that doesn’t connect faith to a specific religion. It’s a film that prioritises feelings over logic, and is worthy of being rediscovered because of the tremendous emotional impact that it has on viewers, including Pascal.
The fact that Weir is now retired is a shame, given that Pascal is the type of actor who would fit perfectly within one of his projects. That being said, Pascal has a healthy slate of upcoming projects with real potential, as he isn’t just relying on Star Wars and Marvel for the rest of his career. In addition to replacing Joaquin Phoenix in the new detective film from Todd Haynes, Pascal is also set to appear in the newest project from Andor creator Tony Gilroy.
