Let’s be real for a second. You can’t navigate the pop culture landscape in the 2020s without tripping over Pedro Pascal. He’s the stoic, adoptive father in a galaxy far, far away. He’s the grizzled, reluctant guardian at the end of the world. He’s about to be the smartest, stretchiest man in Marvel’s First Family. From The Mandalorian to The Last of Us, and with upcoming blockbusters like Fantastic Four and artsy darlings from Celine Song (Materialist) and Ari Aster, Pedro is, without a doubt, everywhere.
For a while, we were all on board. The internet collectively crowned him its “daddy,” a charming, slightly goofy, and undeniably talented actor who finally got his moment in the sun. But what happens when that moment turns into an eternal, blinding high noon?
A little while back, I dipped my toes into the spicy waters of Pascal critique with a video, and boy, did it make some waves. While many of you nodded along, a vocal contingent was ready to defend their favorite leading man to the death. They couldn’t understand my “uncomfortable feelings” about some of his behavior.
So, let’s do a proper deep dive. This isn’t just about the fatigue of seeing one man in every major franchise. It’s about the vibe. It’s about the bizarre, behind-the-scenes behavior that has me, and many others, scratching our heads and asking: Why do we find this attractive, again?
Grab your popcorn, because we’re about to get into it.
The Great Attraction Debate: It’s Not His Face, It’s His… Shenanigans
Before the digital pitchforks come out, let’s get one thing crystal clear: this isn’t about physical attractiveness. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and taste is subjective. If you think Pedro Pascal is the hottest thing since sliced bread, that’s your prerogative! Power to you.
My confusion, and the core of my original argument, has never been about his looks. It’s about his behavior. I’ve seen him crowned the new “sex symbol,” and I have to admit, I do a spit-take every single time. Because when I look at the way he carries himself, especially around his female co-stars, I’m not seeing a confident, suave leading man. I’m seeing something else entirely, something that leaves me with a resounding sense of “Huh?”
I was flooded with comments from people saying, “My female friends think he’s so hot!” And my question remains: Why? What part of this specific public persona is endearing to women? Let’s break down the evidence.
The Red Carpet Conundrum: Is It Anxiety or Just… Awkward?
One of the biggest points of contention from my last discussion was the dynamic between Pedro Pascal and his co-stars, most notably Vanessa Kirby and Dakota Johnson. The defense for his extremely touchy-feely behavior is often chalked up to one thing: anxiety. But is that a fair explanation, or is it a convenient PR shield for behavior that just feels… weird?
Exhibit A: The Vanessa Kirby Chronicles
If you’ve seen any press for the upcoming Fantastic Four, you’ve seen Pedro and Vanessa Kirby, our new Reed Richards and Sue Storm. Their dynamic has been… clingy. In the original video, I pointed out a moment where Pedro seemed to be touching her in a way that made me feel uneasy, wondering if it was an unwanted advance. The consensus from defenders was that their relationship is totally consensual and friendly.
Okay, let’s accept that premise. Since then, Vanessa has been calling him her “boo,” and they’ve been seen acting mutually affectionate. But does that make it less odd to watch?
There’s a now-famous clip of them at an event where a fan asks for an autograph. They are holding hands, and the fan handler gently suggests, “You can let go to sign this.” Pedro, with a dramatic flair, grips her hand tighter and says, “No, never.” He has to perform a feat of contortion, reaching around her while refusing to break their hand-hold.
Look, if this is their inside joke, fine. But it reads less like a cute couple moment and more like a 50-year-old man who physically cannot function without holding his co-star’s hand like she’s his mom guiding him through a crowded mall. This constant need for physical contact is giving major flashbacks to the bizarre press tour for Wicked, where Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo were perpetually intertwined. The excuse then was also anxiety. It seems “anxiety” is the new go-to explanation for watching actors feel each other up to promote a film. Is this just how movie marketing works now?
Exhibit B: The Dakota Johnson Debacle
The touchy-feely tour doesn’t stop with Vanessa. While promoting their upcoming film Materialist alongside Chris Evans, the strange moments continued with Dakota Johnson.
Let’s not forget the tidbit I missed in my last video: Pedro apparently told Dakota she has “great feet” and should start an OnlyFans. As a professional compliment between colleagues, it’s… a choice. Then, during a photoshoot, as Dakota posed with a fan blowing her hair for a dramatic effect, Pedro sidled up close and pretended to be the one blowing her hair.
Again, in isolation, this could be seen as playful banter. But as part of a pattern? It just adds to the image of a man who seems to have a compulsive need to be physically involved with his female co-stars in a way that feels performative and, frankly, a little juvenile for a man in his fifties. Whether it crosses a line into #MeToo territory is up for debate and depends entirely on the comfort levels of the women involved. But from an outsider’s perspective, it’s just plain odd. And it’s perfectly okay to find it odd.
The “Powerful Women” Paradox: Is It Empowerment or a Performance?
This brings me to the crux of my discomfort. It’s not just the physical antics; it’s the philosophy behind them. In a recent interview about Fantastic Four, Vanessa Kirby described the Reed and Sue relationship as an “equal partnership.” A fantastic, modern take.
But when Pedro chimed in, his framing was different. He said that he is “being led” and that he’s “led by all the powerful women in his life.”
On the surface, this sounds wonderfully progressive. A man championing the power of women! We love to see it, right? But something about it doesn’t sit right with me. It feels less like genuine respect and more like a carefully crafted persona designed to appeal to the current Hollywood cultural zeitgeist.
Let’s flip the script. Imagine a top-tier actress today saying in an interview, “I just love being led by all the powerful, strong men in my life. I just love to be led.” She would be absolutely lambasted. She’d be called anti-feminist, weak, and accused of having no self-respect.
So why is it admirable when a man does it? To me, it projects a lack of self-respect. When I see a 50-year-old man essentially hanging on his co-star’s apron strings, needing to be physically and emotionally “led,” I don’t see an enlightened, modern man. I see a man who, for lack of a better word, is performing a kind of “beta” submissiveness that feels like a strategic career move rather than a genuine personality trait.
Hollywood’s response to the cartoonish, superficial masculinity of the ’80s and ’90s—all big muscles and bravado—seems to be this complete role reversal. But instead of finding a healthy middle ground that values character, integrity, and quiet confidence, we’ve swung to the other extreme. The new “ideal” man is apparently one who is submissive, openly needy, and requires constant validation. Paul Mescal, another star of the upcoming Gladiator 2, has echoed similar sentiments about being “done with the alpha male.”
And that’s fine—the caricature of the past wasn’t great either. But this new version isn’t appealing to me. As a woman, the idea of a partner who needs to ride my coattails or constantly touch me for his own validation isn’t attractive. It’s exhausting. A man who truly respects women doesn’t need to shout it from the rooftops or perform it by being ostentatiously submissive. He just… respects women.
Reading Between the Lines (and the Rainbows)
Now, let’s address the elephant in the room, the one that many people brought up in response to my last video. It is a widely held belief among fans and pop culture commentators that Pedro Pascal is gay, bisexual, or otherwise a member of the LGBTQ+ community.
So, how could I say all this? Well, a person’s sexuality doesn’t make their public behavior immune to critique.
Does this possibility explain some things? Absolutely. The very close, physically affectionate friendships between many gay men and their female friends are a well-known dynamic. Perhaps this explains why he’s so comfortable and touchy-feely around his co-stars. It might mean there’s truly nothing predatory or inappropriate going on behind the scenes, and it’s all just platonic fun.
But here’s the thing: it doesn’t change how the behavior is perceived, especially when Hollywood is positioning him as the leading man and a universal sex symbol for a predominantly heterosexual female audience. For all the women out there who supposedly find him so attractive, I have to ask again: is it this simpering, “please lead me” persona you’re drawn to? Is it the constant need for physical validation? To me, it reads as a lack of a strong personal core, and I just don’t find that endearing.
Today’s “Evolved” is Tomorrow’s “Outdated”
Here’s my final thought, and it’s a big one. During that same Fantastic Four interview, Pedro and Vanessa talked about how outdated the old comics and the 2005 movie were in their portrayal of Sue Storm, especially the sexism and objectification. They’re right. Those things were products of their time, behaviors and stereotypes so normalized that few people questioned them.
In the ’60s, Sue Storm being written as a damsel was “normal.” In the 2000s, criticizing the hyper-sexualization of Jessica Alba’s character would get you labeled a prude. We only recognize how problematic these things were in retrospect.
This makes me wonder. As everyone in Hollywood pats themselves on the back for being so “evolved” now, what behaviors that we currently accept as normal will be looked back on with scorn?
Right now, it’s controversial to say you find Pedro Pascal’s performative submissiveness to be off-putting. It’s the “new normal” for masculinity that Hollywood is pushing. But what about in 20 years? Will pop culture historians look back at this era and say, “Wow, remember when the biggest male star in the world was a 50-year-old man who needed to be led around on a leash by his co-stars? How outdated was that?”
Just because we think we’re on the right side of history in the moment doesn’t mean we are. The dinosaur of today was the peak of evolution yesterday.
The Final Verdict: It’s Okay to Feel Weird About It
So, that’s where I stand. The Pedro Pascal fatigue is real, but it’s deeper than just overexposure. It’s a fundamental disconnect with the persona he and Hollywood are selling. A 50-year-old man who acts like a needy teenager on the red carpet, who proclaims his submissiveness as a virtue, is not my idea of an admirable or attractive leading man.
And I know I’m going to get hate for this all over again. But it’s important to say what you think, even if it goes against the grain. Because pop culture, and our ideas of what’s “normal,” are always changing.
I could be completely wrong. Or, I could be vindicated in a decade when we all look back and collectively say, “Yeah, that was a bit weird, wasn’t it?”
What do you think? Am I just a hater, or have you been feeling this Pascal paradox, too? Let me know in the comments below