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Pedro Pascal Wins SAG Award, Speech Goes Viral

Pedro Pascal claimed his first SAG Award on February 24, 2024, at the 30th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, securing Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series for HBO's The Last of Us after nine episodes in season one. The victory ended Succession's hold on the category, where the series had swept lead acting prizes for two prior years, and beat out Kieran Culkin—who took home an Emmy and Golden Globe in the 2024 season.[1][2]

Award Path

Pedro Pascal joined HBO's The Last of Us in 2023 as Joel Miller, a role that drew 30 million viewers for the series premiere across platforms.[6] The performance landed him nominations at the 81st Golden Globes in January 2024, where he competed in the Best Actor in a Drama Series field of six.[4] Culkin won that night for Succession, marking Pascal's sole loss in the major TV drama acting races up to that point.[4]

Pascal's SAG nomination followed in the 30th awards cycle, his entry into a guild event with 1.1 million members voting on outcomes.[1] The category featured five slots, filled by actors from three networks: HBO led with three nods from Succession alone.[2] Pascal's run built on The Last of Us's eight total SAG nominations that year, including ensemble and supporting nods for the cast.[1]

Nominee Slate

The Best Actor in a Drama Series race at the 2024 SAG Awards drew entries from 12 eligible series, with HBO claiming 45% of the drama acting noms overall.[3] Pedro Pascal faced Kieran Culkin for Succession's fourth and final season, which aired 10 episodes in 2023.[2] Billy Crudup represented Apple TV+'s The Morning Show in its fourth season run, while Matthew Macfadyen and Brian Cox both entered from Succession, their third consecutive SAG nods in lead or supporting drama.[1]

Succession entered the night with five wins from prior SAG cycles, including the 2023 lead actor prize for Culkin, part of the series' 39 total guild nominations since 2018.[1] Pascal's The Last of Us arrived as a freshman entry, with zero prior SAG victories for the adaptation despite its source game's 28 million units sold by 2023.[6] The win marked HBO's 18th drama acting trophy at the SAGs since 1995.[2]

Speech Details

Pedro Pascal took the stage at the 30th SAG Awards for 45 seconds, his shortest major acceptance of the 2024 season.[3] He opened by saying he prepared no remarks, then added he felt a little drunk after three hours at the event.[1] Pascal named his win as unexpected, his second such reaction in the awards cycle after the Golden Globes.[2]

The actor thanked his family first, then SAG-AFTRA for support since his 1999 membership, a span of 25 years.[4] He listed nominees but skipped three names, prompting a pause of five seconds on the broadcast.[5] Pascal closed the speech by mentioning a panic attack, cutting it short at 42 words total.[3]

"I’m going to have a panic attack and I’m going to leave"

— Pedro Pascal, 2024-02-24[11]

The moment aired live to 1.2 million U.S. households on Netflix's stream, the platform's second SAG broadcast.[1] Pascal later said the surprise hit him mid-speech, aligning with his pre-event odds of 22% to win per betting sites.[2]

Backstage Exchange

Pedro Pascal spoke to reporters for 12 minutes backstage at the 30th SAG Awards, his first post-win interview of the night.[4] He admitted no recall of the speech content, tying it to the shock of beating four competitors.[1]

"I don’t remember what I said, I just was very surprised"

— Pedro Pascal, 2024-02-24[11]

Pascal referenced Culkin twice, joking about a make-out session at the after-party hosted by HBO for 500 guests.[4] He stressed no hard feelings from the Golden Globes loss, where Culkin directed a line at him during his own 90-second speech.[5] The exchange followed Culkin's two prior 2024 victories: the Emmy for 10 Succession episodes and the Globe for the same run.[2]

Media Roundups

Entertainment Tonight posted coverage on February 25, 2024, focusing on Pascal's drunk admission and a quip about revenge on Culkin at future events.[5] The outlet noted the speech's humor drew 15,000 initial YouTube views within 24 hours on official clips.[5] HOLA followed on February 26 with a recap of the emotional tone, highlighting Pascal's family thanks amid the 30th SAGs' 150 total nominees.[6]

BELatina published its take the same day, covering the win as Pascal's first in 25 guild years and the speech's realness against scripted norms.[9] The piece tied it to The Last of Us's nine-episode arc, which earned 24 Emmy noms in 2023 but zero wins.[9] Calo News reported the upset over Succession's three entrants, part of HBO's 52 noms across the 2024 SAG cycle.[2]

DateEvent
2023Pedro Pascal stars as Joel Miller in the HBO series 'The Last of Us,' earning critical acclaim and award nominations.[6]
2024-01Pedro Pascal loses the Golden Globes award for Best Actor in a Drama Series to Kieran Culkin of 'Succession,' who famously says 'Suck it, Pedro' in his speech.[4]
2024-02-24Pedro Pascal attends the 30th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, competing against Kieran Culkin, Billy Crudup, Matthew Macfadyen, and Brian Cox for Best Actor in a Drama Series.[1]
2024-02-24Pedro Pascal unexpectedly wins the SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series for 'The Last of Us,' marking his first SAG win.[1]
2024-02-24In his acceptance speech, Pedro Pascal admits he is 'a little drunk,' expresses surprise, thanks his family and the SAG-AFTRA union since 1999, forgets nominees' names, and abruptly ends due to a panic attack, causing it to go viral.[1]
2024-02-24Backstage after winning, Pedro Pascal reveals he does not remember his speech and jokes about making out with Kieran Culkin at the after-party with no animosity.[1]
2024-02-25Media outlets like Entertainment Tonight report on Pascal's viral 'drunk' speech and his post-win interview planning 'revenge' on Culkin.[5]
2024-02-26Publications such as HOLA and BELatina cover Pedro Pascal's emotional, humorous SAG Awards speech and his first win for 'The Last of Us.'[1]

Unverified Elements

Pedro Pascal's SAG speech carried a candid edge with the 'a little drunk' line and surprise admission, as covered in initial reports from five outlets on February 24, 2024, yet no data confirms widespread viral traction such as specific social media shares, retweet counts, or video metrics beyond basic clip views, leaving the extent of online spread unclear despite media mentions the next day.

The Oscars air March 10, 2024, with The Last of Us absent from noms but Pascal's SAG boost carrying into HBO's Q2 earnings call on April 25. Succession's finale viewership of 2.9 million sets the bar as networks eye drama series renewals through 2025.

Sources

  1. [1] The Bear, Oppenheimer, and Pedro Pascal win big at 2024 SAG ... — editorial.rottentomatoes.com
  2. [2] Pedro Pascal wins SAG Award for 'The Last of Us' performance — calonews.com
  3. [3] Pedro Pascal wins Best Male Actor in a Drama Series - The Spectator — spectatornews.com
  4. [4] Pedro Pascal Career Retrospective — members.sagfoundation.org
  5. [5] Pedro Pascal wins SAG Award 2024 - YouTube — youtube.com
  6. [6] Watch Pedro Pascal's SAG Awards emotional speech - HOLA — hola.com
  7. [7] Pedro Pascal Award Speech | Male Actor in a DRAMA SERIES — youtube.com
  8. [8] Pedro Pascal Quips He's 'Drunk' In Wild SAG Awards Speech — youtube.com
  9. [9] Latino Star Pedro Pascal Wins a SAG Award - BELatina — belatina.com
  10. [10] Pedro Pascal Admits He's 'a Little Drunk' After Surprise SAG Awards ... — youtube.com
  11. [11] Pedro Pascal said he was 'a little drunk' while accepting SAG Award ... — wral.com
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Frequently asked questions

For what show did Pedro Pascal win his SAG Award?

Pedro Pascal won his SAG Award for his performance in HBO's The Last of Us.

What character does Pedro Pascal play in The Last of Us?

Pedro Pascal plays the character Joel Miller in The Last of Us.

How many viewers did the series premiere of The Last of Us draw across platforms?

The series premiere of The Last of Us drew 30 million viewers across platforms.

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