Pedro Pascal Smiles, Reads Feminist Book, Internet Goes Crazy

Photos of Gladiator II and The Last of Us star Pedro Pascal spending some down time on the beach have been posted on Instagram, and the internet is incredibly appreciative.

A shirtless Pascal can be seen next to film score composer (and equally hunky) Brandon Campbell, the pair drinking out of coconuts on beach somewhere sunny.

Another shot, posted by co-founder of LNA Clothing, Lauren Alexander, shows the star reading on a lounge chair, in nothing but a pair of red board shorts and a smize.

And for those of us who like a little intellectual stimulation, you might be interested to know that Pascal is reading the 2009 Polish novel Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk, which the Guardian describes as a “murder mystery, dark feminist comedy and paean to William Blake”.

Say no more.

Gay singer and actor Omar Apollo can also be spotted in the photos, making for a fun little group of people to go away with.

2024 was a huge year for Pedro Pascal

Pascal’s just wrapped up a huge year professionally, having starred in Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II alongside Paul Mescal, with whom he has an adorably goofy dynamic.

Next year will see Pascal reprise his role as Joel Miller in The Last Of Us, HBO’s award winning adaptation of the video game by the same name.

The show faced backlash for the number of queer storylines it included, especially one in episode three, titled Long Long Time, which saw the love story of Bill (Nick Offerman) and Frank (Murray Bartlett) unfold despite the surrounding zombie apocalypse.

The episode was extensively review-bombed online, with a quarter of the reviews left on IMDB giving it only one star.

Bella Ramsey, who is nonbinary themselves, told British GQ that the homophobes didn’t bother him.

“I know people will think what they want to think. But they’re gonna have to get used to it. If you don’t want to watch the show because it has gay storylines, because it has a trans character, that’s on you, and you’re missing out.”