‘Literally the hardest thing I’ve ever had to learn to do’: Pedro Pascal to play cellist in upcoming film

Pedro Pascal will play a cellist in the upcoming film Behemoth!, directed by Tony Gilroy.

Searchlight Pictures has released a trailer for the drama, in which ’A gifted cellist, Alex Serian (Pedro Pascal), returns home to Los Angeles after 20 years on the road.

’Music, which has been the constant, all-consuming river of his life, begins to carry Alex on an adventure that will change him forever.’

Pascal, 51, is seen playing the cello in the trailer, for which he underwent training that he described as ’literally the hardest, hardest, hardest thing I’ve ever had to learn to do,’ in an interview with Vanity Fair.

’Holding a bow correctly alone takes a day’s lesson, and that’s moving fast,’ he said in the interview, saying it was more difficult than any of the stunts or fight scenes he encountered filming projects such as Game of Thrones or Gladiator II.

’Being in a gladiator arena or hanging from a harness – that stuff pales in comparison to learning how to play the cello and making it look convincing as you’re doing Tchaikovsky.’

The film will also star Olivia Wilde, Eva Victor, Alexa Swinton, Kaya Ralls, Erik Griffin, Jobeth Williams, Margarita Levieva, with Hank Azaria and Will Arnett.

With studio music at the core of the film, Gilroy hired nine composers to score orchestrations for the fake films featured in Behemoth!. The composers include Michael Abels, Emily Bear, Lukas Frank, Michael Giacchino, James Newton Howard, Henry Jackman, Nami Melumad, Brandon Roberts and Alan Silvestri.