Just when you thought the Pedro Pascal frenzy had gone a little quiet online, the Internet-appointed “wholesome daddy” delivered yet another viral speech for his fandom to obsess over.
While accepting his SAG Award for best male actor for his starring role as Joel Miller in apocalyptic HBO series The Last of Us, a teary Pascal told the audience, “This is wrong for so many reasons,” before admitting he thought it was safe to get drunk as he didn’t think he was going to win. Then the chaos ensued. First he shouted out his fellow nominees (“I can’t remember any of your names right now”), before proclaiming, “I’m going to have a panic attack and I’m going to leave,” as he fought back tears.
Despite being part of Hollywood for more than a decade — having starred in blockbuster shows like Narcos, Game of Thrones, and The Mandalorian — last year Pascal-fever went full throttle thanks to his latest starring role as Joel Miller in apocalyptic HBO series The Last of Us. Pascal received rave reviews for his portrayal of the reluctant father and a whole new legion of fans have become obsessed with his good looks, cheeky flirtiness and fiendishly dry humour — including Margot Robbie, with the Barbie star caught mouthing,“I love him” last night as the cameras panned to the SAG audience cheering on Pascal’s speech.
The 48-year-old’s face is now inescapable across TikTok and Instagram, with clips from last night’s speech gaining millions of likes online while past fan edits of his most hilarious and blush-inducing past interviews once again resurfacing. All of which are centred around him being just a pretty great guy.
Many point out that he’s vocally left-wing and supportive of LGBTQ+ rights, especially in regards to his sister Lux, who is a transgender actor and activist.
Below are the top moments that confirmed Pascal is still social media’s resident crush.
He embraces his daddy-ness
Social media can be a world upon itself, full of inside jokes. Although many A-listers choose to distance themselves from it, Pascal has fully stepped into his internet-appointed daddy role. During a red carpet interview at The Last of Us premiere, a presenter read out a thirst tweet, “I call Pedro Pascal a DILF and think he’s my cool, slutty father.” To which he stared directly into the camera and said, “I am your cool, slutty daddy.” Before proudly smirking in all his daddy glory knowing he was about to break the internet again.
His friendly competition with Oscar Isaac
His only other contender for internet daddy is Oscar Isaac, who has also earned himself his fair share of thirst thanks to that steamy red carpet shoulder kiss with Jessica Chastain. However, during a lie-detector test, Pascal was quick to debunk any competition. While conceding that Isaac was older and actually had children, he was quick to affirm that, “daddy is a state of mind” while cheekily winking at the camera, adding: “I’m your daddy.”
Admitting that he looks at fan pages when he’s down
The lie-detector interview with Vanity Fair was a treasure trove of Pascal magic. In fact, multiple parts of it have gone viral as of late — notably the segment where the Chile-born actor admitted that he looked at fan accounts of himself when he was feeling down.
“Do you ever look at Instagram accounts devoted to you being a heartthrob when you’re feeling down?” After quickly throwing a nervous glance, the actor confessed, “Yes, I do,” and burst into a fit of giggles. “It’s called ‘Pedro Pascal Fan Account’,” he added, in case any of you want to look it up.
Practically adopting co-star Bella Ramsey
Pascal may not have any biological children but his on- and off-screen friendship with co-star Bella Ramsey, 19, proves he’s up for the role. In one adorable interview, the two discuss working together on the show — as well as topics such as which one item they’d take if they were in a zombie apocalypse (Pascal said his robe from Game of Thrones, by the way) and who was more awkward when they met.
However, Ramsey also opened up that Pascal helped them on their gender journey, saying that the conversations, “weren’t always deep: they could be funny and humorous, the whole spectrum. We were just very honest and open with each other.” And added that they felt they had gained another father.
He has age-appropriate relationships
Fans love that he appears to have appropriate dating habits in an industry that’s notoriously seedy. His only official relationship has been with Law & Order actress Maria Dizzia, 48, though he’s been linked to co-stars Robin Tunney, 50, and Lena Headey, 49, before (however, he only ever calls them his “good friends” whenever asked, so we may never know the truth).
His now-defunct Twitter
Like we said, the internet loves it when a celebrity gets involved — especially when they do so in a heartwarming (and hilarious) way. Pascal frequently reposts fan-made edits to his Instagram account, and was a bona fide Twitter star until he deactivated it in protest of Elon Musk’s haphazard takeover of the platform. Whether he was replying to thirsty tweets, telling fans that he was watching The Incredibles 2 high on edibles, or correcting his hater’s grammar mistakes, screenshots from Pascal’s Twitter era still go viral today.
