Los Angeles, April 6 (IANS) Hollywood actor Pedro Pascal is drawing parallels between himself and his character in the streaming 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, reports ‘People’ magazine.

"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”.

As per ‘People’, 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 shared. "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”, the actor added.

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.