Pedro Pascal Reveals the Tedious and Technical Strategy He Uses for Memorizing Lines and Calls Himself a Psycho

Pedro Pascal is all over our screens these days, leading two major TV franchises, starring in The Mandalorian and The Last of Us, as well as giving us an amazing performance in the comedy The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, and landing exciting roles in the upcoming films Gladiator 2 and Marvel’s The Fantastic Four. He’s a busy actor with a lot on his plate, and he has revealed his strategy for memorizing his lines for said projects.

At a recent fundraiser for the SAG-AFTRA Foundation (via GamesRadar), Pascal revealed that he memorizes his lines by writing down the first letter of each word in a sentence, comparing his style to a serial killer. Pascal found a physical example of his handy work and showed the interviewer a page from his notebook filled with letters and dashes in columns. He explained:

"This is like a psycho, first letter of every word. You see the letters, right? Basically, I'm the Unabomber. You use the first letter of each in these towers or columns, I guess, and it's this very, very tedious way of making yourself learn the line so that you're not making choices. It's not even sort of artistic, it's just this really technical way I've had to acquire because of that terrible experience of forgetting my lines."

It sounds like a solid method for remembering each word once you have a general idea of what you’re trying to say. Pascal is a good actor, and he has proven his chops, so he must be doing something right!