Oberyn Martell on Game of Thrones Remains Pedro Pascal’s Best Role

When The Mandalorian premiered on Disney+ in 2019, most viewers quickly became enamored with the Yodi-like Grogu. The title character could have become an afterthought, but the man behind the mask helped infuse Din Djarin with quiet charisma and heroic stoicism. In fact, I remember asking my brother who the actor playing Mando was. “That’s Pedro Pascal! He’s from Narcos.” I looked up the Netflix crime series and it seemed right up my alley. 

Fast forward to 2023 and Pascal is on my screen again with the HBO adaptation of The Last of Us. Once again playing a father figure and a hardened fighter, Pascal proved his ability to play a leading role was cemented in carbonite. He was cast as Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic in Marvel’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps for 2025 and by the time he appears in Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II at the end of this year, we’ll already be living in a full-on Pascal-ution! Despite all of his contemporary success, however, the Chilean heartthrob still may not have surpassed his breakout role from a decade ago: Prince Oberyn Martell in Game of Thrones.

It’s not like the epic series inspired by George R. R. Martin’s works needed any more characters by the time Pascal guest-starred in season 4. Game of Thrones has one of the most expansive casts in TV history. There are enough storylines to fill double the run-time of each episode, but Pascal’s cocky, sexually fluid nobleman from the land of Dorne stole every scene he was in for seven spectacular episodes. 

Possessing the ability to captivate amongst a crowd of peers in a massive ensemble show proves that Pascal has a special “it” factor that was kindling underneath the surface long before he began getting hired as the number one person on the billboard. Prince Oberyn immediately comes to mind when brainstorming the most memorable supporting characters on the silver screen. Let’s walk down memory lane and reminisce about the role that propelled Pascal to the top of his game!

Pascal Exuded Cool on Game of Thrones

One of the first things viewers will notice about Oberyn when he arrives in King’s Landing is his predilection for sexual encounters of all kinds. In a show where graphic nudity, orgies, and incest play major roles in the aesthetic of each hour, Oberyn’s sexuality exuded a much more pleasant, liberating vibe. Pascal’s tempestuous rizz made it cool to be bisexual and pansexual on television during a time in which there were a lot fewer LGBTQ+ characters on mainstream networks. Look no further than his introductory scene in which he banters with the women who work in the brothel followed by flirtatious advances toward Olyvar (Will Tudor).

Considering how often Pascal is a subject of thirst-worthiness on social media, his unique flair portraying Oberyn surely helped birth and perpetuate the steamy reputation surrounding him today. Like a rock star of old, he evades homophobia and ignorant bigotry towards queerness by inverting the expectations around same-sex attraction. People who don’t understand male-to-male love sometimes push a narrative of the act being perverted or unnatural. Pascal’s staunch confidence in playing a non-straight character helped form his legacy early on as a malleable sex symbol and a potential shining star. 

As rumors swirl that he’s queer in real life, Pascal refuses to let fans force him into addressing his sexuality because the performances in his shows and movies speak loud and clear about his passion for LGBTQ+ support. Just having someone as famous as Pascal playing around with different positions on the sexuality spectrum on-screen tears down walls for future gay and bisexual actors. Add in his firm defense of his transgender sister, Lux, and you have an actor who flawlessly navigates the ins and outs of the industry and owns the intangibles necessary for megastardom. 

Pascal’s Line Delivery Is Flawless

The best star actors are often the ones who start out in small roles because this allows the performer to practice the little things that make someone great. Pascal’s ability to deliver a single line in the middle of a scene that otherwise has nothing to do with him garners special adulation from TV and movie nerds. Prince Oberyn has one of the sharpest tongues on Game of Thrones, and his honesty often juxtaposed the sham song and dance performed by other characters in Westeros such as Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey) and Petyr “Littlefinger” Baelish (Aidan Gillen). 

Take Tyrion’s (Peter Dinklage) trial in season 4 for example. In the middle of a tense monologue from Shae (Sibel Kekilli) in which she says Tyrion wanted her to “fuck him like it was his last night on Earth,” Oberyn retorts “Well did you?” His persistence in forcing Shae to follow up on her claim while others didn’t give it a second thought granted levity to a climactic exchange and corroborated his character’s sexual essence. When someone stands out in a clip that has nothing to do with them, people should take notice that the actor might be more than just cameo-worthy. 

Pascal’s Fantastic Action Acting Chops

In everything from the aforementioned The Mandalorian, The Last of Us, Narcos, and the upcoming Gladiator II and The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Pedro Pascal typically fits like a glove into the action genre. He battles intergalactic foes while saving an alien infant, mows down his opponents to save his surrogate daughter from lethal surgery, and combats drug dealers and cartel opponents episodically. Without his unforgettable exit scene on Game of Thrones, though, Pascal may have never shown the world how bombastic he is when the action ramps up to summer popcorn flick levels. 

The one-on-one against The Mountain (Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson) in season 4’s “The Mountain and the Viper” signaled that the series was entering the shock value Hall of Fame next to giants such as Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead. Even after four more seasons, Prince Oberyn’s shocking demise stands as perhaps the ultimate death in Game of Thrones. It was the swagger that Pascal possessed throughout the lead-up to his exodus that made it stand the test of time, though. 

One rewatch of that duel scene and anybody could see Pascal was headed for the moon and the stars (in a galaxy far, far away *ducks head for corny pun*.) With a new project almost every year, Pascal will surely have several career-defining roles to argue their placement in listicle hierarchies. Prince Oberyn Martell may always blow our minds the most, though.