Nerdist’s Nerdiest Man Alive: Pedro Pascal

Pedro Pascal is Nerdist’s Nerdiest Man alive 2025. Not only has he spent his career adding major nerd properties to his IMDb page like he was Thanos collecting Infinity Stones. So it was only appropriate that in 2025—the same year he returned as Joel Miller on The Last of Us—he finally joined the MCU. But the man who burst onto the pop culture scene as the most stylish, most charismatic denizen of Westeros didn’t join the world’s biggest superhero franchise as one of its coolest characters. He joined as its biggest geek, Reed Richards.

Pascal’s casting as the brilliant scientist in The Fantastic Four: First Steps might have disappointed some who wanted a more naturally nebbish actor. His soft-spoken, sad, quiet performance proved his doubters wrong. He was every bit the bookish dweeb the role called for. But there never should have been any skeptics to convince in the first place. Few in Hollywood have the kind of nerd cred of Pedro Pascal.

Pedro Pascal’s resume includes major fantasy, sci-fi, horror, and superhero properties. He’s not a Mandalorian, he’s THE Mandalorian. He saved Ellie from both Infected and Fireflies. He was the scene-chewing Maxwell Lord of Wonder Woman 1984. Pascal only played Oberyn Martell for one season on one of the best cast, best acted, most iconic shows of all-time, and yet he has a legitimate case for having delivered Game of Thrones‘ single best performance.

This is a man who started his career by getting turned into a vampire that Buffy then killed. Pascal gets to say Buffy slayed him. Throw in other credits like Kingsman: The Golden Circle, The Wild Robot, Gladiator II, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, and some memorable, super-dorky sketches on SNL, and Pascal is an unquestioned nerd icon.

He’s also a good person, which didn’t hurt in our ranking of him as Nerdist’s Nerdiest Man Alive 2025. Pascal’s one of the biggest stars in the world, but unlike some others, he doesn’t remain apolitical to protect his success. He uses his platform to proudly and without reservation advocate for the trans community. And he’s doing so when our trans brothers and sisters need defending the most.

He’s everything you’d want in a nerd, both on screen and off. And in 2025—when the actor who was already Din Djarin, Joel Miller, and Oberyn Martell also became Reed Richards and spent a big chunk of his time filming Avengers: Doomsday—Pascal reminded us why that’s true on both accounts. That’s why this year Pedro Pascal didn’t just become Mr. Fantastic, he’s become Nerdist’s Nerdiest Man Alive.

Nerdist’s 2025 Nerdiest Man Alive Runners-Up

James Gunn

James Gunn can’t believe he didn’t win this award since he released both Superman and Peacemaker season two this year alone. Plus, he played himself in a very good, meta episode of Rick and Morty. Not bad! What he accomplished is even more impressive considering he did so while also overseeing the creative side of the DCU as co-CEO. But that’s exactly why he’s our first runner-up. He’s his own boss. He might have killed them, but Gunn was still the one who gave Gunn those plum superhero assignments.

Ke Huy Quan

If the internet existed when Ke Huy Quan was a child, he would have definitely won the Nerdiest Kid Alive award at least once. But The Goonies and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom star has reestablished his nerd cred as adult. The Everything Everywhere All at Once Oscar-winner was one of the best parts of Loki season two. In 2025 he starred playing the dorky, deadly leading man of the rom-com Love Hurts. He also lent his voice to The White Lotus, The Electric State, and the upcoming Zootopia 2. And just in case we forgot about his past nerd accomplishments, he showed up in a delightful LEGO video for the company’s new Goonies set.

Josh Gad

Josh Gad is a future Nerd Hall-of-Famer, but in 2025 he pulled off something truly special. He’s leading the long-awaited, long-desired Spaceballs 2. And that film will see the great Rick Moranis return to the screen as Dark Helmet. Of all the wonderful dorky things Josh Gad has ever done, bringing Rick Moranis back to the big screen might be the best.

Spaceballs 2 is expected to arrive in theaters in 2027, making Rick Moranis the favorite to win this award then.

Well that’s it for Nerdist’s Nerdiest Men of 2025. Congratulations to Pedro Pascal for his victory as Nerdiest Man Alive of 2025. And come back next year to see who takes it in 2026.