If you’ve been on social media at any point in the past month or two, you will definitely have come across a Fan Page or a meme of Pedro Pascal. The Chilean-American actor has recently become the focal point of the internet and has been getting this attention from his great work in The Last of Us.

Whether or not you’ve seen the man in action and are a fan or not, let’s dive into why, exactly, Pedro Pascal has been all over the internet recently and why the “Internet Daddy” is becoming a big deal across all social media platforms.

Who Is Pedro Pascal?

The Chilean-American actor Pedro Pascal has been a rising star in the past couple of years, to the point of becoming a household name. Originally going by the name Pedro Balmaceda, he changed his name legally to Pedro Pascal after his mother passed away. Growing up in Chile to a mother who was a psychologist and a father who was a fertility doctor, Pedro was born into a very intellectual family that was supportive. They also had family ties to Socialist President of Chile Salvador Allende, through his Mother’s side of the family.

The family moved to the United States when Pedro was only 9 months old, due to the political climate in Chile and the rebellions against the dictatorship. In his youth, he started the pursuit of his interest in acting. He participated in his local theatre along with school plays while growing up and continued to do so into his university years at NYU where he would eventually receive his BFA in acting. From there he would continue to work in this field and would take on minor roles throughout the majority of his career. 

The majority of the roles Pedro was getting were in short films but he had his first TV appearance in 1999 on the show Good vs Evil. Though this wasn’t a breakthrough for his career it was a landmark moment, and he would continue to get work in minor roles and would begin to see an influx of similar high-profile TV shows on his resume. Some of which include Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Law and Order, and The Good Wife.

He would finally get his big break when he landed his breakout role in Game of Thrones as Oberyn Martell in 2014.

Fast forward to the current day, Pascal is now the lead role in one of HBO’s top hit series, The Last of Us along with Disney’s newest addition to the Star Wars franchise, The Mandalorian. 

Pedro Pascal Meme Craze Explained

In the past few months it’s been difficult to go online and not see a video meme of Pascal in one of his various roles. And based on how many likes and shares these viral posts are getting, it’s clear that this Pascal train is not running out of steam anytime soon. 

With memes and videos on TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter racking up millions of likes and thousands of comments, there’s no wonder Pedro has become a household name and an internet phenomenon. The man has even acquired a dedicated page on TikTok to him. 

Pedro has also been involved in hilarious interviews, allowing viewers to better understand the person behind their favorite roles. One of the shows called “Snack Wars” was a fan favorite for the meme-able content that also went viral.

For anyone not accustomed to the show, it is comprised of various celebrities who taste and rate snack food from different countries. The exact part that caught the hearts of all Pedros fans was when the Chilean American ate a sandwich and spaced out for a bit before touching back down in reality. The actor was eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and was asked if it was better than a marraqueta, which is a Chilean food staple that is eaten for breakfast.

To no surprise, the Chilean native picked his country’s go-to for breakfast but not before making one of the most memorable and “Pedro-esk” non-comments when he takes a bite of the PB & J beforehand, then blinks and goes on if unphased by the snack at all.

Another with TikTok video with over a million views shows a photoshopped Pascal in an office environment taking a break.

Here’s another video that has over 3.5 million.

The second Pascal meme doing the rounds is none other than a car scene from The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, which premiered in theaters almost a year ago but has received a second wave of interest due to the virality of the following meme.

And if for some strange reason, you haven’t stumbled across this meme while scrolling your social feeds, it goes a little like this: Pedro Pascal and Nicolas Cage are sitting in a convertible car driving with the roof down across the Californian coastline. Cage does not look pleased. The song “Make Your Own Kind of Music” plays in the background of this video meme, while Cage slowly turns to look at Pascal, glaring in what could only be described as an angry glare. The scene then cuts to Pascal who’s smiling like crazy.

The video is normally paired with text turning the entire scene into a meme.

Here’s an example:

This is the first known appearance of the meme, from February 2023. It was posted by a TikTok account @gh0uliasux, and gained close to a million likes. 

The meme template continued to make the rounds on TikTok, ultimately spreading to Instagram reels as well. It followed a similar template, where the poster of the video is usually insinuating their blissful happiness and ignorance of another person suffering. 

Nicolas Cage discussed the meme at a red carpet event in March. He said that he didn’t understand why the scene had gone viral but that he was happy people were seemingly having fun with it. 

Gen Z’s Sudden Infatuation With Pascal

You may understand why Pedro has appeal with some women and men who are around the same age as him – but what exactly is the appeal with the Gen Z audience that’s making him such an internet sensation? 

This is even more of a question when on average the age of difference is almost 25 years, and how exactly has this man been dubbed the “internet daddy” and as one article puts it “Daddy of the moment”? 

For these answers, it’s necessary to look into how Pedro Pascal is relatable in all of his mannerisms and contradictions that help him become more aligned with the generation as a whole through their fundamental values. 

One of the biggest issues Pedro has voiced is his inability to find himself within his dual identity as a Chilean American. He has spoken about his upbringing and moving from Chile to Denmark and later to the United States, because of Augusto Pinochet and his regime. He had been separated not only from family at that time but also from his culture, and he wouldn’t go back until he was 8 years old to see everyone he had left behind.

This could be one of the reasons that Pascal finds himself playing the role of the person most willing to affirm others when they’re searching or unsure of where their true identity lies. One of the prime examples of this is when Pascal’s sister had come out as transgender and he took to social media as an outlet to show his public support, via Instagram. 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Pedro Pascal he/him (@pascalispunk)

Pascal is the type of person who believes strongly in using preferred pronouns, which is a social construct Gen Z is known for utilizing and strongly supporting. Many people including Gina Carano, co-start on Mandalorian have praised Pascal for teaching her why it’s important to respect others’ boundaries and use proper pronouns – this is after she was widely criticized for using the word “beep, bop, boop” on her Twitter instead of actual pronouns.

It’s easy to see how so many people love and adore Pedro, as he time after time proves himself to be a genuine person, which makes him come across as more approachable and in general, relatable. 

While in an interview with Vanity Fair for the magazine’s “Lie Detector” segment, Pascal goes on to agree that he is a “heartthrob”, which leads him to completely fall apart in laughter when asked by the interviewer to give his sexiest stare. 

In another instance, he was asked whether or not he looks through fan accounts when he’s down and he admitted he did — before completely cracking up at the thought or impression that may give off. 

These interactions all seem genuine and authentic and that’s really the feeling Pascal gives off. He’s not let the fame and fortune of Hollywood turn him into someone who takes themselves too seriously – he’s exactly who he is and seems quite happy leaving it that way.

Conclusion

In the grand scheme of it all, it’s hard to pinpoint exactly which aspect of Pedro Pascal is the reason behind his mass appeal – especially when it comes to Gen Z. 

Whether it be his acting, his good looks, or the “it” factor that some people are blessed with, one this is for certain – he is someone that this next generation can look up to. Pascal has the authenticity and relatability that are needed in a young person’s role model.