Is Pedro Pascal The Ultimate Daddy? Here's Why Women Are Obsessed With "The Last Of Us" Star

Whether or not you have played the original video game, The Last of Us on HBO is bound to entertain viewers. It follows the trek of Joel and Ellie as they journey across the country in a post-apocalyptic world that is full of the "infected," people who have contracted the Cordyceps brain infection and thus turn into horrifying new forms that are out for one thing only: fresh human flesh. Joel is a father who lost his daughter in the very first episode of the season, in the midst of the initial infection that started to take over the world. 20 years later, he is charged with the difficult, seemingly impossible task of transporting 14-year-old Ellie across the US in order for her blood to be studied. She is somehow immune to the Cordyceps infection; although she has been bitten by the infected, the wound never spread to the rest of her body, and she's entirely unaffected by the infection. Six episodes of the season have aired so far, and already fans are swarming around Pedro Pascal, calling him the ultimate daddy.

Who Is Pedro Pascal?

Pedro Pascal has starred in a lot of different shows and movies over the last few years, but he kind of flies under the radar, so you may not have ever seen him before The Last of Us. Although he was acting for many years prior, he first rose to fame for his brief yet electric portrayal as Oberyn Martell in Game of Thrones. Oberyn was the younger brother of Doran Martell and the father of eight bastard girls known as the Sand Snakes, and he was best known for his talent as a warrior, his sharp tongue and keen intellect, and his insatiable sexual appetites—for both women and men. Pedro was quickly known as a sex symbol everywhere, and women couldn't get enough of him.

Pedro also starred in Netflix show Narcos as Javier Peña, Disney's The Mandalorian, the Netflix film Triple Frontier, and Kingsman: The Golden Circle. But it's really his latest role as Joel in The Last of Us that has propelled him to another level of stardom. Pedro's full name is José Pedro Balmaceda Pascal, and he was born on April 2, 1975 in Santiago, Chile. His mother was a child psychologist, and his father was a fertility doctor; they were both staunch followers of Salvador Allende, a physician and former president of Chile. Allende was the first Marxist to be elected as president in a liberal democracy in Latin America. Pedro's parents resisted Augusto Pinochet, who ruled as dictator of Chile after overthrowing Allende. Because they were active in resistance groups against Pinochet, they fled the country when Pedro was only 9 months old and found refuge in Denmark. Soon after, they moved to the US, where Pedro grew up in Orange County, CA and San Antonio, TX. When he was 8 years old, he and his family were able to travel back to Chile and visit their family.

Although he was heavily involved in competitive swimming at an early age, Pedro gave it up in order to devote himself to acting classes. He later graduated from New York University's Tisch School of Arts in 1997. Two years later, his mother died, and he chose to take on her last name as his stage name to honor her and because Pascal was much easier to pronounce than Balmaceda.

Pedro has lived in New York City since he attended school there, and he is an ardent supporter of LGBT rights; his brother, Lux Pascal, identifies as a transgender woman, and Pedro has always been openly supportive of him. Regardless of his political affiliation, there are women from all walks of life who seem to have a special attraction to him.

Why Do Women Love Pedro Pascal?

There are countless fan accounts dedicated to the wonder of Pedro Pascal, especially since The Last of Us aired on HBO. Women can't get enough of the Chilean-American actor, and he has been dubbed the ultimate daddy. Pedro is known for his quickness to laugh in interviews and his down-to-earth demeanor. In a famous lie detector interview with Vanity Fair, his unapologetic honesty won over multitudes of viewers. He was asked a series of questions about his career, personal life, etc. The interviewer asked him who he thought was a bigger daddy: himself or friend and fellow actor Oscar Isaac. Pedro said even though Oscar is an actual daddy, he himself was more of a daddy. "Daddy is a state of mine, you know what I'm saying?" he said into the camera. "I'm your daddy."

The clip went viral, and people went crazy in the comment sections across all social media platforms. In the same lie detector interview, he was asked whether he thinks he's a heartthrob. He said no, but the specialist immediately said he was lying. Pedro looked embarrassed but was also forced to admit that he looks at fan accounts on Instagram when he's feeling down. His laugh is so infectious that people couldn't help but fall in love.

"His unapologetic honesty is one of the most adorable things about him. He’s having the time of his life and makes no bones about it," someone wrote on Instagram. "Honestly I've always casually liked Pedro Pascal but it was this interview that made me love him lol," another person wrote. "I love this interview. He's so genuine. He's definitely a heart-throb 😍 His laugh is just so infectious if that makes sense lol ❤️❤️," someone else said.

But aside from his genuine nature and infectious laugh, there's something in particular about Pedro Pascal that really makes women fall in love with him: He usually plays characters that are masculine, strong, and protective. His character Joel in The Last of Us is a rugged father who did everything he could to protect his daughter, but she was fatally shot by law enforcement when they were trying to escape their hometown that was being overrun by the infected. Years later, he risks his life again, many times over, to protect a teenage girl who could be the saving grace of the entire human race. He's stoic, loving (in his own way), and is exactly the kind of guy you want by your side if you're trying to survive the apocalypse. In Game of Thrones, his character Oberyn was protective and masculine. He attempted to avenge the death of his sister and her children (sadly, he died at the hands of The Mountain).

Even though Pedro is neither married nor a father in real life, he plays the character of masculine protector well, and perhaps that's what makes him the ultimate daddy to so many women across the world. It's ironic when you think about it; most of the women who adore him are the same ones who support the feminist idea that women don't need to be protected and provided for by men. And yet their natural biological urge to be protected makes them deeply attracted to men like Pedro.