Pedro Pascal’s Wild West Dream That Never Happened
Pedro Pascal once went all out to land a role in The Sisters Brothers, even penning letters in hopes of joining the cast. We look at his jam-packed career and the western that slipped through his fingers.
Few actors have shot to fame as rapidly as Pedro Pascal. For years, he was quietly plugging away, but now you’d be hard-pressed to find a screen he’s not on. In 2024 and 2025 alone, the Chilean-born star has ticked off roles as a Marvel hero, a Roman general, a smooth-talking bachelor, and even a wisecracking fox. He’s clearly making up for lost time, with his schedule packed to the rafters.
One of the bigger projects from this busy period was Eddington, directed by Ari Aster. The film, set during the pandemic, pits Joaquin Phoenix’s anti-mask sheriff against Pascal’s pro-lockdown mayor in a small-town standoff that mirrors the wider world’s divisions. The film sparked plenty of debate, which probably suited a story built on conflict. During the promo run, Pascal found himself face-to-face with Phoenix, and couldn’t resist bringing up an old sore point.
Missing Out on the Wild West
In a chat with Dazed, Pascal asked Phoenix,
“Do you know how badly I wanted to be in The Sisters Brothers? I wrote letters and stuff. I read the book!”
The 2018 film paired Phoenix with John C Reilly as the Sisters brothers, a couple of hitmen roaming the Wild West. Under Jacques Audiard’s direction, they’re sent after gold prospectors played by Jake Gyllenhaal and Riz Ahmed. The story, based on Patrick deWitt’s 2011 novel, is a gritty, offbeat take on the classic western.
No one’s quite sure which part Pascal was chasing, but he’d have slotted in nicely as either of the main blokes. Despite a top-tier cast, the film didn’t pull in the punters, earning just $14 million from a $38 million budget. Still, critics were keen, and it racked up nominations at the César Awards, with Audiard nabbing Best Director there and at Venice.
What Could Have Been
If Pascal had landed a spot in the film, he’d have shared the screen with Rutger Hauer, the legendary Dutch actor. Hauer’s role in The Sisters Brothers turned out to be his last before he passed away in 2019, making it a missed opportunity for Pascal to work with a true great.
Pascal didn’t have to wait too long for his own turn in a western, though. In 2023, he starred alongside Ethan Hawke in Pedro Almodóvar’s short, Strange Way of Life. Like The Sisters Brothers, it’s about two gunslingers, but this time, the connection is romantic rather than brotherly.
Blurring the Lines of Genre
The whole conversation about cowboys came up thanks to Eddington, which is set in the dusty New Mexico desert. When Dazed asked Pascal if he reckoned the film counted as a western, he wasn’t so sure, replying,
“This one seems like a political satire western, but only partly because we’re in a dusty, small town, that’s what makes it a western?”
Pascal’s journey from hopeful letter-writer to in-demand star shows just how quickly things can change in the film world. Even if he missed out on one Wild West adventure, he’s certainly made up for it since.