With his salt-and-pepper hair and rugged good looks, he’s the self-proclaimed ‘daddy’ everyone in Hollywood is talking about.

At 50 years old, Pedro Pascal has become one of Tinseltown’s hottest properties thanks to his roles in apocalyptic TV show The Last Of Us, Oscar-nominated epic Gladiator II and Star Wars spin-off The Mandalorian.

And his star is set to rise even higher this summer with his upcoming role as superhero Mister Fantastic in the Marvel blockbuster The Fantastic Four.

But it is the Chilean-American actor’s off-screen antics that have Beverly Hills talking.

For his progressive stance on LGBT issues has caused him to clash publicly with some of the most powerful people in showbusiness – including Harry Potter creator JK Rowling.

When the author celebrated the UK’s Supreme Court ruling earlier this month that ‘a woman is determined by her biological sex’, Pascal – whose sister is trans – publicly criticised Rowling’s ‘heinous loser behaviour’.

He has also appeared on the red carpet wearing a T-shirt with the slogan ‘Protect The Dolls’ (an affectionate reference to trans women) and taken aim at Donald Trump’s crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion policies.

Posting on Instagram in February, after the US President banned biological males from female changing rooms, Pascal wrote: ‘I can’t think of anything more vile and small and pathetic than terrorising the smallest, most vulnerable community of people who want nothing from you, except the right to exist.’

Pedro Pascal has become one of Tinseltown’s hottest properties thanks to his roles in apocalyptic TV show The Last Of Us, Oscar-nominated epic Gladiator II and Star Wars spin-off The Mandalorian

But it’s the Chilean-American actor’s off-screen antics that have Beverly Hills talking, Caroline Graham writes. He recently appeared on the red carpet wearing a T-shirt with the slogan ‘Protect The Dolls’, which is a supportive term for trans women

While the actor’s outspokenness has earned him a legion of younger fans, critics fear it could tarnish his reputation as Hollywood’s new leading man.

‘A lot of people within the LGBT community and younger people really admire Pedro for speaking out. He’s become a role model for Gen Z,’ a Disney executive told me.

‘It’s refreshing and unusual for someone like him, who is at the top of his game, to risk speaking out about such controversial topics. Kudos to him.’

But an agent with one of the biggest Hollywood talent agencies warned: ‘Pedro’s a nice guy but I always advise actors not to get on their soapbox. It puts a lot of people off and, when you are leading man material, that translates to takings at the box office.

‘No one in Hollywood cares what people think. All they care about is the bottom line: money. Pedro could be threatening that if he turns people off because of his views.’

And, as my insiders point out, Pascal’s outspoken views have put an unwelcome focus on his fiercely-guarded personal life.

In March, he was spotted having an ‘intimate’ three-hour dinner with Friends star Jennifer Aniston at her favourite restaurant in Los Angeles, Sunset Tower. But friends have dismissed rumours they are in a relationship, insisting the pair are ‘just close friends’.

And, if previous experience is to go by, it’s unlikely Pascal will shed any further light on the gossip. While he has previously been linked with actresses Lena Headey, Robin Tunney and Maria Dizzia, he has always refused to answer questions about his love life in interviews.

The 50-year-old was spotted having an ‘intimate’ dinner with Friends star Jennifer Aniston at her favourite restaurant in Los Angeles, Sunset Tower

Yet those close to the pair have dismissed rumours of a relationship between the two, insisting they are ‘just close friends’

Pascal and Ms Aniston arrived at the restaurant soon after 8pm, leaving separately at 11.30pm

‘Pedro is someone who is charming to everyone he meets but plays his personal cards very close to his chest,’ one source who has worked with him said.

‘He’s one of the biggest heartthrobs and most eligible bachelors in Hollywood but you rarely see him out on the town or at parties. He’s a great guy, very funny, a blast to be around. He’s a gentleman and treats everyone with courtesy whether it’s someone serving him lunch at craft services or the director of the movie. People love him.’

Indeed, it’s been a long rise to Hollywood stardom for Chilean national Pascal.

Born Jose Pedro Balmaceda in Santiago in 1975, his doctor parents fled the country under the Right-wing dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet when he was nine months old. They sought asylum in Denmark before moving to the US, first to Texas and then California.

In multiple interviews, the actor has spoken about feeling like ‘an outsider’ while growing up in America, saying: ‘It was a chaotic, beautiful childhood.’

However, when he was just 24 and struggling to start out in acting, his mother Veronica died by suicide in 1999. He has since spoken about how the grief has shaped his career, revealing: ‘She’s the reason I’m doing this. Everything I do, I do for her.’ In homage to his mother, he began using her maiden name, Pascal.

He told one interviewer the tragedy brought him closer to his sister Lux, who is 18 years his junior, and his younger brother Nicolas, whose age has never been made public.

‘They were very young kids, so much younger than me, so even if they hadn’t lost a parent I would still feel parental towards them,’ he told Esquire magazine in 2023.

‘I didn’t naively think I could fill a space like that but I just always wanted to be like, I’m here.’

He remains close to 32-year-old Lux, a model and actress, and publicly supported her when she announced she was transgender in 2021.

Posting a story about her on his Instagram, he wrote: ‘My sister, my heart, our Lux.’

Earlier this month Lux praised her brother, telling The Hollywood Reporter: ‘What makes him so fabulous is that he wears all of his humanity on his sleeve and he doesn’t hide who he is. That’s the main lesson I’ve gotten from him. There’s no reason for me to hide who I am, right?’

But Pascal’s global success didn’t come until he was almost 40.

After decades working as a bartender while struggling for auditions, he was cast as the sexually voracious warrior Oberyn Martell in Game Of Thrones in 2014.

His character was brutally crushed to death in the hit show’s fourth season – giving Pascal instant cult status.

He said recently: ‘People still stop me to talk about that scene. It scarred them!’

But it is his role as the post-apocalyptic survivor Joel in The Last of Us in 2023, which has seen his legion of admiring fans grow.

‘I’m your cool, slutty ‘daddy’,’ he told US site Entertainment Tonight. ‘I didn’t think this was ever going to happen for me now. Or ever.’

One long-time acquaintance says it is Pascal’s ‘everyman quality’ that has Hollywood executives now banging down his door.

She told the Mail: ‘Pedro comes across as human. He hugs his fans and seems truly grateful to be successful and famous. He doesn’t come across as overly-rehearsed by a team of PR people which many stars of his calibre do. He’s accessible to his fans. He controls his own social media accounts. He sticks up for his transgender sister.

‘People love that authenticity. He comes across as kind and also kind of awkward sometimes. And that’s sexy.’

And that popularity is showing no sign of slowing down after The Last Of Us returned for its second season last month.

Fans have dubbed him ‘Internet Daddy’ for his silver fox appeal, and pored over his eccentric fashion choices such as the red Valentino suit he wore to the Met Gala in 2023 or the see-through mesh shirt he wore to a game launch the same year.

Or, indeed, the ‘Protect the Dolls’ T-shirt which several celebrities – including actress Tilda Swinton and singer Troye Sivan – have also worn in public.

‘He’s a thirst trap to both men and women and that adds to his allure,’ the acquaintance added. ‘He’s a breath of fresh air and goodness knows Hollywood needs that.’