"Game of Thrones" Star Pedro Pascal Gets Infection from Fans Putting Thumbs in His Eyes

Actor Pedro Pascal has enjoyed a meteoric rise to fame over the last few years. But there are a few aspects of stardom the Mandalorian and Last of Us star found less than enjoyable—namely, fans asking him to re-enact his character's death on Game of Thrones. So many people asked him to pose for pictures with their thumbs in his eyes that he got an eye infection, Pascal said at the recent Hollywood Reporter Drama Actor Roundtable. 

Pascal said he was surprised by how much notoriety accompanied his seven-episode role on the long-running series—and how fans would approach him in person. At first, it was exciting.  "I remember, earlier on, because of Game of Thrones and the way my character died—speaking of touching—people were super into taking selfies with their thumbs in my eyes," Pascal said. "And at first, I was so earnest and happy about the success of the character in the show, I'd let them! And then I remember getting a bit of an eye infection."

Pascal's character, Oberyn Martell, died in season 4 of the series, when Gregor "The Mountain" Clegane gouges his eyes out and cracks his skull. Pascal previously said the death scene was so relaxing he actually fell asleep in the middle of filming it.  "There were all of these fleshy bits that they were kind of placing all over my face, and pumping blood so that it would pool, you know, and spread through the amphitheater for this good wide shot of the two of us from above," he said on an episode of First We Feast's "The Hot Ones." "And I was dead asleep."

Pascal has spoken before about weird fan encounters. In his recent Saturday Night Live monologue, the actor said the meetings can still be intense.  "It's an honor to be a part of these huge franchises like Game of Thrones and Star Wars, but I'm still getting used to people recognizing me," he said. "The other day, some guy stopped me on the street and said 'my son loves The Mandalorian.' And the next thing I know I'm FaceTiming with this six-year-old who has no idea who I am because my character wears a mask for the entire show."

"Yeah, I'm having fun," Pascal said at the roundtable, where he addressed his title of "the Internet's daddy." 

"It seems like a bit much on paper," he said. "There was a time when the Mandalorian was too daddy to baby Grogu, and Joel was too daddy to Ellie. These are daddy parts. That's it."  Asked whether he was parental in real life, "No, I'm not," Pascal replied, before turning to the camera and declaring, "And I'm not going to be a daddy!"

"I've had the interesting experience, and the fortune really, to be a part of jobs that have these franchise-size successes. And you're very taken care of in terms of its level of exposure," Pascal shared.  His blockbuster success has him feeling "very lucky," but Pascal is looking forward to a different type of acting experience. "It would be really interesting to see what happens if I can step into something that is more of a risk, as far as how big the project is."