Pedro Pascal is everywhere right now. Not only is the actor lighting the world on fire with lead roles inThe Last of UsandThe Mandalorian, he’s also become a cultural icon with unrivaled sex appeal. Pascal is a lovely, charming man with an illustrious career that is now being seen in a new light as millions of people discover him for the first time. His entire history has been thrust under the parasocial microscope as we paint him with personality traits and attributes we’ve no business in assuming. While he leans into it on occasion, there comes a point where memes begin encroaching upon his personal boundaries.
This past week saw Pedro Pascal and Jon Favreau in London for the UK premiere of The Mandolorian’s third season. They took part in YouTube videos, spoke to press, and were predictably swarmed by thousands of fans hoping to catch a glimpse of their beautiful faces. Both of them are naturals in public and respond to the majority of advances and requests with enthusiasm, but the emergent line of questioning and trends leveled at Pascal reveal an online joke that has already gone too far. He has daddied too close to the sun and must now face the consequences.
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You might not have noticed, but Pedro Pascal is quite an attractive man. The 47 year-old has been the subject of fancams and thirst tweets for months now. Many of us are enamoured by his good looks and unusually positive attitude as a high-profile actor who continues to rise in prominence. But this outward wholesomeness should never be an excuse to project our own intimate fantasies onto him. A trend that’s become so common that recent interviews feature Pascal shutting down requests for him to read thirst tweets with the sole intention of turning him into a sexual object. Regardless of his gender or position as a public figure, he deserves the agency and compassion the rest of us are afforded. Yet it is always denied.
Access Hollywood sought out a slice of that viral pieand were politely declined with a smile, although this denial runs far deeper. This all began after aVanity Fair videofeaturing Pascal taking a lie detector test resurfaced after The Last of Us premiered. In it, he admits in a mess of shy giggles that he sometimes watches fancams of himself to receive a much-needed boost of confidence. At the time it was hilarious, and a solid indication that Pascal is at least somewhat aware of the fan culture he has cultivated, and to learn that he even indulges on a rare occasion came across as permission to take things even further. He clearly knows the shenanigans we’re up to, so surely it’s okay to double down and keep up the sexualisation.
“Daddy is a state of mind, you know what I’m saying? I’m your daddy,” he said to Vanity Fair. Since then, we’ve seen the same train of thought chased by countless outlets and talk shows from Graham Norton to Saturday Night Live, and to Pascal’s credit, he has played along with it every single time. There comes a point where you have to stop though, when you reach a breaking point of impatience that analysis of your craft is ignored in favour of performing for the masses as an object of desire you’ve unwillingly been twisted into. I can’t blame Pascal for putting a stop to things, pausing for a solid 30 seconds before telling Access Hollywood that he won’t be playing along anymore.
Thirsting over celebrities is nothing new, but there has always been an element of relative obliviousness on behalf of the subject.Our own Stacey Henley once asked Anya Taylor-Joy if she was aware of the fandom’s obsession with her constantly changing hair. She was not, and responded to our question with surprisingly exuberant detail. Some people could end up being the types who Google themselves out of curiosity, although
I have to imagine that the sheer amount of fan discussion fame can generate means there comes a point to shut it all out and focus on your own life. No matter how much of a household name a celebrity can be, they are still people dealing with trials and tribulations in spite of their privilege. Pascal is no different, but recent weeks have seen his own worth as a human being whittled down to nothing more than charm and attraction. It’s gross, and we have no business in thrusting a man into uncomfortable situations bordering on the sexual purely for our own satisfaction.
Since Pascal is male, he eschews the definition of sexual consent that society has conditioned us into accepting. Men are equally within their right to highlight their experiences of sexual harassment or unwanted advancements, even if it comes in the form of turning down red carpet interview requests that, let’s be blunt here, want to emphasize how we’ve all come to see him as a silver-haired daddy with a heart of gold. Pascal isn’t stupid, and I would not be surprised if he’s looked back on the past few weeks and decided that he’d rather talk about his work than placate reporters with awkward bouts of flirtation while regurgitating lines from fans who want him to know how much they’d like to fuck him.
That is weird and unacceptable on any level, and the impressionable aura of celebrity should never excuse how this expects an investment from Pascal he’s no obligation to provide. The changing face of social media and our need to cycle between viral trends and individuals on a weekly basis to keep the serotonin rolling is a big reason behind our own complacency. It is a platform we’ve come to depend on, its eclectic pace preventing a deeper discussion on whether the content we’re consuming is ethical or ever coming from the right place.
Pascal has found himself caught in the eye of the storm, placed in the role of daddy with no means of escape unless he speaks up. He has, and we should view that as a clear sign to cease our obsession over him. By all means sexualise him in the confines of your own mind, but you cross a line when you thrust a microphone in his face and ask him to play along.
Pascal poking fun at his dorky personality in a lie detector test and acknowledging the fandom is one thing, but it’s now reached a point of non-consensual return that shines a light on the very worst parts of internet celebrity culture.
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