Pedro Pascal Relates to His The Last of Us Character Because He's 'Fiercely Protective' of 'People That I Love'

“I kind of feel their pain,” the actor said of his role in the HBO series 'The Last of Us' at a press conference ahead of season 2’s release

Pedro Pascal isn't ignoring an obvious parallel between himself and his character in the HBO series The Last of Us.

The actor, 49, who plays a strong-willed and protective father figure to Ellie (played by Bella Ramsey, 21) amidst a world-shaking apocalypse, shared that he can relate to the protective qualities of his character Joel, while speaking at a press conference with the cast.

"I'm pretty fiercely protective," Pascal, 49, said ahead of the season 2 premiere on HBO on April 13. "I'm protective of the people that I love. And I think that's probably the main component that I relate to."

Pascal also acknowledged the mental toll that comes with playing a character such as Joel, saying, "It's this experience, more than any I've had. It's hard for me to separate what the characters are going through and how it makes me feel."

"In a way that isn't very healthy," he continued. "And so, I kind of feel their pain I suppose, so I suppose I was in an unhealthy mindset."

He seemed eager for the hit show's second season, which is based on the video game The Last of Us and attributed the series' success to the work that went into its production.

"I think there's something that is really exciting about basically giving everyone another season of a show that everyone loved and that everyone has worked so hard on and has put so much into," Pascal said.

Set in apocalyptic times, he also commented on what it was like to film a show that can be seen as parallel to our own world.

"I think that storytelling is cathartic in so many ways, always has been," Pascal said. "It's the way that the human beings have made testimony to life. Whether it was, you know, handprints on the walls inside of a cave to, you know, a television show that you can stream on Max starting April 13th."

He continued, "For me, you know, growing up, I have always — and it's all my development is based on, you know — books I've read, movies I've seen, and television that I've watched. And so, it's very much going to reflect the human experience."

"Under such extreme circumstances, I think that there's a very kind of, like, healthy and sometimes sick pleasure in that kind of catharsis, in a safe space to, to see human relationships under crisis and in pain and intelligently draw political allegory, societal allegory, and based off of the world that we're living in, and very beautifully and intelligently."

The second season of the show is predicted to reflect The Last of Us Part II video game and will bring back beloved cast members as well as introduce new faces to the plot, including Catherine O'Hara.

Season 2 of The Last of Us airs on HBO on April 13. Season 1 is available on Max now.