It’s not easy being in the public eye. Paparazzi are around every corner, and the tabloids are waiting for one minor slip-up to declare war on someone. However, there is a whole different set of expectations when an actor accepts a role based on a comic book. Decades and decades of history follow them wherever they go, and if they even have one hair out of place, the backlash will be inescapable. Pedro Pascal is well aware of all of this ahead of his appearnce in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, but he has a great support system that includes one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe‘s biggest stars.
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Pascal is no stranger to massive roles, as his resume includes stints on Game of Thrones, Star Wars: The Mandalorian, and The Last of Us. However, the MCU is a whole different world, and as the actor tells Vanity Fair, he and the rest of the First Steps creative team are having to wrap their heads around that.
“I’m getting an inkling of excitement because it seems to reflect what our common goal was, and what we want to share, which is all of our f***ing hearts on a platter within this genre,” he said. “You just never know if people are going to be disgusted by your heart or not.”
The pessimistic attitude isn’t coming out of left field, though, as Pascal has heard detractors come after his age and appearance in the lead-up to his MCU debut. “I’m more aware of disgruntlement around my casting than anything I’ve ever done,” he explained. ‘He’s too old. He’s not right. He needs to shave.’”
Fortunately, one actor who has experience playing in the MCU background is coming to Pascal’s defense. Robert Downey Jr. has reached out to his Avengers: Doomsday co-star and offered words of encouragement.
“He’s just so immediately generous and inviting that you feel like you can be afraid, you can be hungry, you can be ambivalent,” Pascal said.
Robert Downey Jr. Is in Every MCU Actor’s Corner
The love goes both ways because Downey Jr. told Vanity Fair how much Pascal’s journey means to him, saying, “Pascal’s slow trajectory to becoming a household name who is on a wildly hot streak kind of reaffirms my faith in our industry.”
Pascal isn’t the only actor in the MCU family that Downey Jr. has his eye on, however. Ahead of the release of Ironheart, the actor took time out of his busy schedule while filming Doomsday to send a message to Dominique Thorne, who is preparing to headline her first solo project.
Thorne appreciated the message from her fellow Iron Person, but it wasn’t the first time she had heard from him. “Shortly after we finished filming in Chicago is when I got the first phone call from him, and he has been so sweet, like, through and through,” she told Good Morning America. “So, the support it means so much. It really does.”
All these positive stories about the Iron Man actor make Marvel Studios’ decision to bring him back as a villain make more sense. He’s a positive force of nature and makes everyone else feel good about themselves on set. There’s not much more someone can do to prove that they’re worthy of being the face of a franchise.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps hits theaters on July 25, 2025.
Are you happy that Pedro Pascal is playing Reed Richards in the MCU? What are your thoughts on Robert Downey Jr. standing behind his Avengers: Doomsday co-star after all the backlash? Let us know in the comments below!
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