Pedro Pascal delivers strong message on U.S. politics: “Fight back. Don’t let them win”

Pedro Pascal is one of the stars of new film ‘Eddington’ which premiered this week. The A24 film received a five-minute standing ovation and has made headlines for its overtly political nature.

Speaking at Cannes, Pascal was asked for his reflections on the current political climate in the United States. He was unequivocal in his response.

“Fuck the people who try to make you scared," the Emmy Award-winning actor replied. “Fear is the way that they win.”

“So keep telling the stories, keep expressing yourself and keep fighting to be who you are,” Pascal added. “Fuck the people that try to make you scared, you know? And fight back. This is the perfect way to do so in telling stories. And don’t let them win.”

Pascal appears alongside Emma Stone and Austin Butler in the film and his character is at the center of a conflict that has been a key point of contention in modern US history.

The film’s plot takes place in May 2020, during the height of the covid-19 pandemic, and covers a fictional strand-off between a small-town sheriff, played by Phoenix and Pascal as a local mayor. That confrontation “a standoff between a small-town sheriff (Phoenix) and mayor (Pascal) that “sparks a powder keg as neighbor is pitted against neighbor in Eddington, New Mexico.”

During the course of the press conference Pascal - who was born in Santiago, Chile - was asked about the change in tone over the immigration debate in recent years. Since returning to office President Donald Trump has sought to curb immigration. On Friday the Supreme Court blocked Trump’s attempt to use the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to remove immigrants from the country.

“Obviously, it’s very scary for an actor participating in a movie to sort of speak to issues like this. It’s far too intimidating the question for me to really address, I’m not informed enough,” Pascal said. “I want people to be safe and to be protected, and I want very much to live on the right of history.”

“I’m an immigrant. My parents are refugees from Chile. We fled a dictatorship, and I was privileged enough to grow up in the U.S. after asylum in Denmark. If it weren’t for that, I don’t know what would have happened to us. I stand by those protections. I’m too afraid of your question, I hardly remember what it was.”

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