Was Carlos-Manuel Vesga Actually Eating Dog Food In Pluribus? His Answer Made Me Gag A Little

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Be warned: this story contains spoilers for the Apple TV+ series Pluribus, specifically covering events up to and including Episode 7, “The Gap.”

One of the most interesting new TV shows of 2025, Pluribus is already a standout on Apple TV+, especially because it brings together Vince Gilligan (known for Better Call Saul) and Rhea Seehorn, who became a fan favorite in that series. TopMob recently spoke with Carlos-Manuel Vesga, the actor who plays Manousos – a character competing with Seehorn’s character for the title of most unfortunate person – about a particularly disturbing scene involving dog food. And honestly, hearing the details of what he actually ate didn’t make it any better.

In the show Pluribus, Manousos is far more stubborn than Carol, completely shutting out anyone who might offer help. This is particularly evident in the episode “Please, Carol,” where he’s forced to search for food in storage lockers and even resorts to eating dog food when supplies dwindle. Nick Venable from TopMob was curious about what motivated Carlos-Manuel Vesga’s portrayal, and the actor’s explanation was quite revealing.

It turned out to be haggis – a traditional Scottish dish. Apparently, Vince thought plain haggis looked a bit dry, so they mixed it with a thick broth to make it creamier. Everyone was really considerate, telling me I didn’t have to eat much of it. I remember Vince saying they’d reshoot the scene, and I didn’t need to eat the haggis again. But I told him not to worry, that it was okay.

I apologize to any haggis fans, but the description doesn’t make it sound very appealing. Haggis is a traditional Scottish dish made from sheep’s heart, liver, and lungs, combined with oats and spices, and traditionally cooked inside a sheep’s stomach – or nowadays, a synthetic one.

Carlos-Manuel Vesga was a great sport, happily eating a lot of haggis – perhaps even more than the show’s creator, Vince Gilligan, needed. He later admitted it might not have been the best idea.

My main issue was simply having too much to drink. I’d already consumed about four cans, and it wasn’t a matter of not liking the taste – it was just feeling overly full and needing to use the restroom.

Four cans of anything is a lot, but committing to four cans of this gravy-covered organ meat – designed to look like dog food – really shows dedication. The actor, though, claims it wasn’t nearly as unpleasant as it seems, and explained:

It didn’t look very appealing, but honestly, it wasn’t as bad as it looked. It was mostly just a mental hurdle – it didn’t actually taste terrible. I know it doesn’t look great, but for Scots, haggis isn’t so bad! It’s perfectly acceptable. It’s not to everyone’s taste, of course, but I wouldn’t mind having a plate of it right now.

As Carlos-Manuel Vesga’s role in the series grows – especially in “The Gap,” where he journeys from Paraguay through the dangerous Durién Gap to reach Carol in New Mexico – it’s revealed that giving up haggis wasn’t his only hardship for the sake of the Pluribus project.

Okay, so the actor didn’t actually have to drink gasoline for that scene where his character traveled through South America, thankfully! But it wasn’t the fake gas itself that bothered me – it was how they got it down his throat. It was a pretty intense process, and honestly, it made me a little queasy. Vesga told me about it, and…

I can’t recall exactly what the liquid was—maybe tea, or something similar. But it needed to be pushed through the hose while I was siphoning. Someone had to blow into the other end to get it flowing, and I would collect the liquid on my side. I remember the person assuring me they’d brushed their teeth that day, so everything was clean. [Laughs.] It definitely wasn’t a process for the faint of heart!

Indeed. Thank goodness they clarified that they had washed their mouth. Otherwise that would have been disgusting (she says sarcastically while gagging a little).

Despite all the unusual audition requests – like being asked to describe organ meats and tea – Carlos-Manuel Vesga was most surprised by the philosophical implications of the character Pluribus. He hadn’t expected the role to require so little spoken dialogue. He initially auditioned using a scene not from the actual script, and was taken aback when he read the final script and realized how physically demanding the part was – relying on subtle cues like specific eye movements. He even told the showrunner that it was a surprising realization.

I recently told Vince – just last month, actually – that I realized something after filming had wrapped. I hadn’t been able to properly prepare for set. I couldn’t rehearse because I didn’t know where things were, how I was supposed to move, or what the planned choreography was. I could only think about the scenes intellectually. For example, I knew my character licked the can and ate the dog food, but I couldn’t actually practice those actions beforehand.

That’s quite unsettling, as he hadn’t had a chance to practice or get used to the necessary motions beforehand. He went on to explain:

As an actor, especially for me, it was really stressful to start filming without a clear understanding of the scene – like not having the sheet music prepared. I even told Vince I was incredibly nervous, and he pointed out how obvious it must have been. I definitely was – it was a very nerve-wracking experience.

He sounded like a seasoned pro, but admitted the idea of acting in a scene without any lines was incredibly unsettling – more so than even trying haggis, or at least, unsettling in a completely different way.

Apple TV+’s new series, Pluribus, is already a hit, becoming their most-watched original show. It’s well-deserved, with Rhea Seehorn delivering a performance reminiscent of Walter White from Breaking Bad, a surprisingly great cameo by John Cena, and a plot that sparks some truly unique questions – like, how exactly do the relationships in the show function?

Be sure to tune in for the final episodes, which drop Fridays on Apple TV+.

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2025-12-19 01:40