Photo: is_it_just_m3/TikTok; DFree/Shutterstock.com
There's a reason behind the Pedro Pascal rumors—& definitely a reason why he never denies them.
By John Sundholm — Written on Feb 27, 2023
After a decade as a steadily rising star, actor Pedro Pascal, 47, has officially become a household name with his role as Joel Miller on HBO's "The Last Of Us."
And with his new superstardom has come a coveted status that many stars could only wish for—gay icon (I mean, we LGBTQ types don't just hand those superlatives out!).
Pascal has become Gay Twitter's new favorite "daddy"—queer slang for a hunky older man—a status he gleefully embraces in interview clips like the now-infamous one below in which he called himself "your cool, slutty daddy."
And he's become something of an idol to the bisexual community, too, not only because of his bi character Oberyn Martell on "Game Of Thrones" but because Pascal is rumored to be bi himself—rumors he doesn't exactly work hard to dispel.
But it turns out Pascal's relationship to the queer community has far deeper roots than most of us realized, all the way back to the very beginning of his career.
Pedro Pascal played a young gay man on MTV's groundbreaking 90s series 'Undressed.'
Over the past 10 years, Pascal has played high-profile roles like Javier Peña in Netflix's "Narcos," Maxwell Lord in "Wonder Woman 1984" and the title role in "The Mandalorian."
But his first big break was way back in 1999 on MTV's "Undressed," a mostly forgotten scripted show that aired in the final years before MTV—and TV in general—made a hard pivot toward reality television.
'Undressed' focused on the love lives of teens and 20-somethings, and was controversial for its frank examinations of sex and its inclusion of gay characters.
"Undressed" only lasted three years from 1999 to 2002, but people of a certain age—namely millennials and Xennials who were in their teens and 20s back then—remember it well, because it was way ahead of its time.
As its title suggests, "Undressed" included salacious portrayals of sex between pretty young things played by actors like Christina Hendricks, Jason Ritter and Adam Brody who've since gone on to be major stars.
Most controversially of all, "Undressed" included then-taboo depictions of sexually active LGBTQ characters, and treated them no differently from the show's straight ones.
The storylines were ridiculous and designed to shock, but at a time when queer people were barely present in media—and coming out as gay destroyed stars like Ellen DeGeneres' careers—"Undressed" was a groundbreaking representation.
A viral TikTok clips show a 20-something Pedro Pascal playing an openly gay man on 'Undressed,' and his queer fans are loving it.
The clips show Pascal's character Greg living out all the usual milestones for young gay men, at least back in the day—trying to figure out whether his crushes are gay, helping friends come out and, of course, having a series of hook-ups.
Throughout, Pascal delivers a bunch of deeply silly—and in some cases outdated—gay zingers sure to become mocking catchphrases among queer people.
We're talking hilariously cringe one-liners like, "find a better place to hide your porn, buddy!" and "please, either you’re gay or you’re not!"—which just goes to show how far we've progressed when it comes to attitudes about bisexuality in recent years.
After Pedro Pascal fan account @is_it_just_m3 posted the clips to TikTok, they instantly went viral among Pascal's huge queer fanbase, especially on so-called Gay Twitter.
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"This is sending me into another dimension," one person on Twitter wrote. "Losing my absolute sh-t at the revelation that Pedro Pascal was on MTV's Undressed," another user tweeted.
One of Pascal's perfectly delivered, ridiculous one-liners, "the point is, we're gay," even attracted the attention of major LGBTQ non-profit It Gets Better, who joked it was going to make the quote its new tagline.
Is Pedro Pascal gay?
Pedro Pascal has long been rumored to be gay or bisexual, and has fully embraced his status as a gay icon.
The internet's thirst for "daddy" Pascal has gotten so intense it's become a feature of practically every interview he's done since "The Last of Us" launched.
And his seeming fluency in queer culture and Gay Twitter in-jokes, such as calling icons like Oscar Isaac and Sarah Paulson "daddy" and "mother," has only fueled speculation that Pascal is queer himself.
Fans have even taken it upon themselves to do forensic investigations into Pascal's Twitter activity—where he has a noticeable habit of liking and winkingly replying to tweets about his own gay rumors.
Pascal doesn't just play around with queerness though—he's been an outspoken supporter of his younger sister, Chilean actress Lux Pascal, who came out as transgender in 2021.
And his "The Last Of Us" costar Bella Ramsey, herself queer and nonbinary, has recalled bonding with Pascal on set over thoughtful discussions about gender and sexuality.
Whether he's gay, bisexual, straight or otherwise, Pascal is a worthy wearer of the Queer Icon crown, and with queer-culture roots going all the way back to the 90s, he's efinitely proven his bona fides. Long live Daddy Pedro, he's earned it!
Now how soon can we get a Pedro Pascal-starring "Brokeback Mountain" remake? Maybe Oscar Isaac is available...
John Sundholm is a news and entertainment writer who covers pop culture, social justice and human interest topics.