Wonder Woman 1984 Star Pedro Pascal Reveals How Nicolas Cage Inspired His Maxwell Lord Portrayal

In Wonder Woman 1984, The Mandalorian star Pedro Pascal not only has his face visible the whole time but plays his part much bigger than he does on the Disney+ series. In a previously published interview with EW star Pedro Pascal called his work in the film "the schm-acting" and added that he was "hamming it up," with the outlet noting that Pascal's performance in a specific scene in the film was influenced by Oscar winner Nicolas Cage. Speaking with Uproxx however, Pascal has clarified his comments while also still maintaining that Cage was a big influenced on him for the film and was in fact an anchor for him while working on the DC Film.

"Yeah, I don't relate any of the hamming it up to Nicolas Cage," Pascal said. "I at one point in the conversation I was talking about what an incredible influence he was on me as an actor, which is true. And, now, so much so that I would use him as a sort of point of reference to anchor myself, to achieve something in a scene specifically with Wonder Woman, And maybe about a half-hour later in that conversation, I was self-deprecating and accusing myself of 'shmacting' and hamming it up, and the two do not go together."

The actor did open up about his history with watching Cage as a performer, picking his favorite movies as: Rumble Fish, Racing With The Moon, Valley Girl, Peggy Sue Got Married, Moonstruck, Vampire's Kiss, and Raising Arizona.

Pascal did finally get to work with Cage though with the pair set to appear in the upcoming action-comedy The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. In the film, Cage plays himself and Pascal a Mexican billionaire that is both a mega-Cage fan and a drug cartel kingpin. Things will get crazier from there. In addition to playing on the themes of Cage's career thus far, Massive Talent will also reference some of the actor's most popular movies, like Leaving Las Vegas, Face/Off, and Gone in 60 Seconds. That film will be released some time next year.

Wonder Woman 1984 hits theaters and HBO Max on December 25. Reviews for Wonder Woman 1984 continue to pour in but the film is currently sitting at 88% and "Certified Fresh" with 86 total reviews. ComicBook.com's 3.5 out of 5 star review reads in part:

"Wonder Woman 1984 learns from the critiques of its excellent predecessor, delivering a much more contained finale by comparison to its extravagant and over-sized blow-out third act in the first movie, but it would have benefited from some more character work, sharper pacing and conclusions, and, well, a little bit more Wonder Woman."