Pedro Pascal may very well be nominated for an Emmy this fall for his performance on HBO's The Last of Us, but he's already being nominated for another honour: the 2023 Calgary Stampede Parade Marshal.
A new Change.org petition has popped up with that very goal, and -- as of Monday morning -- has over 5,000 signatures.
The nomination is not as much of as a pipe dream as one may think. Last year's Parade Marshal was Hollywood legend Kevin Costner, who was also coming off of a hit TV series of his own, Yellowstone.
While Yellowstone is primarily centered around a cattle ranch, The Last of Us only had a brief stint featuring the stars of the show on horseback, but it was clearly enough to get people thinking.
While the petition is for Pedro Pascal -- who portrayed Joel Miller, the Texas man escorting a teenage girl across a post-apocalyptic America -- other Calgarians want his co-star Bella Ramsey -- who played the teenage girl, Ellie -- to join him, too.
And the love between Albertans and Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, is not exactly one-way.
Speaking to CTV's etalk at a premiere event in Canada, Pascal spontaneously gave a shoutout to Canada, before discussing his time in Alberta, where the production spent nearly a year filming the series.
"Shoutout to Canada," Pascal said. "I love Canada. Take me back!"
He then went on to describe the locations where the show filmed as a "powerful and dynamic physical landscape," mentioning that the show filmed on-location at real mountains, rivers, and lakes around the province, and also spoke glowingly about the crew's dedication and enthusiasm.
Other actors such as William Shatner, Sam Elliot, and Christopher Reeve have also served as the Parade Marshal for the Calgary Stampede, so there is an extensive history of big-name actors taking on the role.
Pascal's other hit show, The Mandalorian, is also currently airing its third season. Prior to his recent successes, Pascal had a main role on Narcos, and also had a minor arc on Game of Thrones, like co-star Bella Ramsey. Pascal also hosted Saturday Night Live in February, and was a presenter at the 95th Oscars last Sunday, which aired concurrently with the season 1 finale of The Last of Us.
For her part, Ramsey has also voiced some fond feelings about Alberta, saying in a recent interview that "I have such withdrawal symptoms from set."
All in all, the production spent nearly a year between July 2021 and June 2022 in Alberta, across nearly 180 locations, filming not just in cities like Calgary and Edmonton, but also lesser-known destinations like High River, Canmore, Okotoks, and Waterton Park.
READ: The Last of Us: Alberta Locations Where Key Season 1 Scenes Were Filmed
The Last of US has already been renewed for a second season, but the upcoming episodes are still in the development stage, so it may be a while before we next see post-apocalyptic Alberta back on our screens.
The 2023 Calgary Stampede returns from Friday, July 7 to Sunday, July 16, but if the Parade Marshal petition is successful, we'll get to see Pedro Pascal (and hopefully Bella Ramsey as well) back in Calgary much sooner than that.
