Summary
Pedro Pascal is the man of the moment in the Hollywood world, appearing in numerous major movies and television shows as his career has skyrocketed. He’s a heartthrob to many and a talented actor who is set to have everyone talking about him soon with the release ofThe Fantastic Four: First Steps, where he plays Reed Richards.
However, his previous venture into the superhero world, as part ofWonder Woman 1984, had a negative impact on him. That wasn’t due to his performance, though, or anything to do with the movie’s quality itself. Instead, it was purely a matter of how his character, Maxwell Lord, was portrayed inWonder Woman 1984.
Pascal played the villain in this superhero sequel, allowing him the chance to work oppositeGal Gadot’s iconic superhero. The movie was released in theatres and on HBO Max simultaneously in 2020, and the role required him to be clean-shaven. Fans of Pascal may have noticed that he’s never been that way since, and he revealed toVarietythat it was due to his physical appearance inWonder Woman 1984.
I grow such shit facial hair, but if I were to shave it all off… I really look very [awful]. Strongly disagree with a clean shaven me,” Pascal said. “I was so appalled by the way I look in ‘Wonder Woman 1984.’ I loved the movie, but I was so appalled by the way that I looked that I never have gone back unless it were completely necessary.
Typically, he has been seen with facial hair inthe majority of Pascal’s biggest roles. From his appearances onGame of Thrones, The Mandalorian, andThe Last of Us, he is often seen with facial hair, which made his appearance inWonder Woman 1984stand out to people. Pascal is going to be rocking some facial hair as he brings Mr. Fantastic to life inThe Fantastic Four: First Steps, but he did admit that the facial hair situation wouldn’t have turned him off taking on the role if he had to be clean-shaven. He said, “If they asked me to be clean shave forFantastic Fourand insisted then I would’ve done it. But it was a very collaborative creation for all of our looks in the movie.”
Pascal’s lack of facial hair didn’t turn people offWonder Woman 1984, as the movie went on to gross $169 million worldwide, which was an impressive figure given that the majority of movie theatres were shut down at the time due to the global pandemic.It also became the top streaming film of 2020 on HBO Max, demonstrating that people were eager to see the movie and how the sequel continued the journey of Wonder Woman. She’s a character expected to return as part ofJames Gunn’s DC Universe, but Gadot will not be reprising the role, as Wonder Woman is being recast.
Pascal won’t have to worry about being clean-shaven to take on the role of Maxwell Lord again, though, as that was a one-off performance for him in the world of DC. Pascal is now firmly part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe due to his role inThe Fantastic Four: First Steps, with the character of Reed Richards being one he’s likely to play for a long time moving forward. He has already been confirmed to be part of the cast forAvengers: Doomsday, where he’s expected to have an important role, and it’s likely that the Fantastic Four will be part ofAvengers: Secret Warsas well. Hopefully, Pascal will enjoy his physical appearance in that more thanWonder Woman 1984, and doesn’t feel the need to make another drastic change.
