Almost all the major voice actors fromThe Last of Usvideo games have roles in HBO’s TV adaptation, with some of them even reprising their original characters from the games.Video game adaptations have been notoriously disappointing because they usually have no respect for the source material. However, HBO’sThe Last of Usis an exception because the creator of the franchise himself,Neil Druckmann, is one of the showrunners. This has meant that the TV series is passionately faithful to the games it’s adapting — in more ways than just sticking to the story.
In casting the TV show, Druckmann brought over most of the main voice actors from the video games.Since the voice actors behind the lead roles of Joel and Ellie aren’t the right age to play them in live-action, those parts were recast with Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey. However, the voice actors were recruited to play different roles in the TV adaptation. Meanwhile, other voice actors who were a physical match for their characters were brought in to reprise their respective roles on the show. Because of this,The Last of Uscastfeatures great actors from the games.
7Troy Baker
Troy Baker is a prolific voice actor who’s played such video game roles as Yuri Lowell inTales of Vesperia, Booker DeWitt inBioShock Infinite, and Sam Drake in theUnchartedseries. But his most iconic role, without a doubt, is Joel Miller inThe Last of Usfranchise.Baker is a little too young to play Joel in live-action, but he still portrayed a key role in the TV series.
He plays David’s dubious right-hand man James inThe Last of Usseason 1, episode 8, “When We Are in Need.”
It was an interesting twist to cast the hero of the original game as one of the story’s most despicable villains.David is one of the most deplorable characters inThe Last of Usuniverse — a cannibalistic pedophile who tries to imprison (and later tries to kill) Ellie — and James is his sidekick and enabler. “When We Are in Need” could explore the David and James characters in more detail than the game, and showed that James’ loyalty to David is more pragmatic than sycophantic, and Baker played the nuance of that brilliantly.
6Ashley Johnson
The Original Duo
Throughout her storied career, Ashley Johnson has played roles ranging from Chrissy Seaver inGrowing Painsto Amber Ahmed inThe Killingto Mel Gibson’s daughter inWhat Women Want.She’s also one of the stars of theDungeons & Dragonsweb seriesCritical Role. But easily her most beloved character is Ellie fromThe Last of Usgames. Since Johnson is an adult, it wouldn’t have been feasible for her to reprise the role of Joel’s 14-year-old travel companion in the TV show, but she does have a key connection to Ellie in the TV series.
In the cold open ofThe Last of Us’ season 1 finale— season 1, episode 9, “Look for the Light” — a flashback shows Ellie’s mother, Anna, giving birth to her. In a stroke of beautifully poetic casting,Johnson plays Anna, who’s bitten in the midst of childbirth, which may explain why Ellie is immune to the Cordyceps mutation. On its own, this scene is a fascinating piece of Ellie’s backstory that was missing from the games. But on top of that, in a meta sense, it symbolizes the original Ellie passing the character’s torch to a new performer.
5Merle Dandridge
The Fireflies Leader
Merle Dandridge played Marlene, the leader of the Fireflies, inThe Last of Usvideo games — and she’s played other video game roles, like Alyx Vance inHalf-Life 2— but she’s primarily an on-screen performer. She’s played plenty of television roles, like Rita Roosevelt inSons of Anarchy, Kim Hammond inThe Flight Attendant, and Natasha Seo-Yeon Ross inStation 19.Given her vast experience in television and the fact that she’s a good physical match for the character, it was a no-brainer for the showrunners to bring back Dandridge to play Marlene inThe Last of UsTV show.
The Last of Us season 1, episode 1, “When You’re Lost in the Darkness,” showed more of her leadership of the Fireflies, her day-to-day operations in the Boston Q.Z., and her initial skepticism about Ellie’s immunity.
Since the TV show was able to step outside Joel and Ellie’s perspective, it could explore Marlene’s character in more depth. The Last of Us season 1, episode 1, “When You’re Lost in the Darkness,” showed more of her leadership of the Fireflies, her day-to-day operations in the Boston Q.Z., and her initial skepticism about Ellie’s immunity.Episode 9, “Look for the Light,” shed some light on Marlene’s relationship with Ellie’s mother,which was only mentioned in the game. Dandridge handled all this extra material with aplomb, complementing her performance in the original video game.
4Jeffrey Pierce
The Tough Survivor
Although Jeffrey Pierce has played Jason Bourne inThe Bourne Conspiracy, Lieutenant Commander “Mother” in theMedal of Honorseries, and various roles in theCall of Dutygames,The Last of Usfranchise’s Tommy Miller is his best-known video game role by far. Since Pierce doesn’t have a physical resemblance to play Pedro Pascal’s younger brother, he wasn’t brought back to play Tommy in the TV series; that role went to Gabriel Luna, who knocked it out of the park. Instead, Pierce was cast in a brand-new role created just for the TV show.
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InThe Last of Usseason 1, episode 4, “Please Hold to My Hand,” and episode 5, “Endure and Survive,” Pierce plays Perry.Perry is the loyal right-hand man ofKathleen, played by Melanie Lynskey. Neither Kathleen nor Perry appeared in the original game; they were created to give a face and a tangible motivation to the villains hunting down Sam and Henry. Kathleen will stop at nothing to kill Henry, whose reluctant snitching got her brother killed, while Perry desperately tries to appeal to her humanity. Pierce nailed the role and shared great on-screen chemistry with Lynskey.
3Misty Lee & Phillip Kovats
Additional Appearances
AlthoughThe Last of Usseason 1 was criticized for having far fewer encounters with the infected than the video game, it still had its fair share of clicker action. The clickers first appear in the TV show when they attack Joel, Tess, and Ellie in a dilapidated museum in a scene taken directly from the game. Since the unnerving sounds of the clickers’ echolocation are practically inimitable, the showrunners brought back Misty Lee and Phillip Kovats — the vocal wizards who voiced the clickers in the original game — to provide the clicking sounds for the TV show.
Lee is a prolific voice actor, having played other video game roles like Garland inJust Cause 4, the police dispatcher inGrand Theft Auto V, and the Ninth Sister in theStar Wars Jedigames, but she’s also a comedian and a magician.Kovats, on the other hand, is best known for his work as a sound designer.He worked in the sound department on such games as theUnchartedseries, the originalGod of Wartrilogy, Insomniac’sSpider-Manfranchise, and, of course,The Last of Us.
2Laura Bailey
The Voice Actress
Laura Bailey is one of the most recognizable voices in gaming.She has played such memorable video game roles as Rayne in theBloodRaynefranchise, Kira Carsen inStar Wars: The Old Republic, Jaina Proudmoore inWorld of Warcraft, Oriana Lawson inMass Effect 3, Nadine Ross in theUnchartedseries, and Mary Jane Watson in Insomniac’sSpider-Mangames. But arguably her most memorable — and, sadly, most controversial — video game role is that of vengeful ex-FireflyAbby Anderson inThe Last of Us Part II, who embarks on the road to redemption after doing something truly monstrous.
Bailey made a cameo appearance in the season 1 finale, “Look for the Light.”
Although she received vicious backlash from players who can’t separate reality from a fictional story,Bailey was lauded for her performance and won the BAFTA Award for Best Performer in a Leading Role and the Game Award for Best Performance.BeforeKaitlyn Dever took over the role of AbbyinThe Last of Usseason 2, Bailey made a cameo appearance in the season 1 finale, “Look for the Light.” Bailey plays one of the horrified nurses standing by as Joel kills the Firefly surgeon and saves Ellie, the same role she played in the original game.
1Jeffrey Wright
The Newcomer
Jeffrey Wright is one of the most celebrated actors working today. He won a Tony Award for his role inAngels in America, an Emmy for his role in the miniseries adaptation of the same play, and he was nominated for an Oscar for his role inAmerican Fiction. InThe Last of Us Part II, Wright played his only ever video game role: Isaac Dixon, the leader of the W.L.F., the militia group that takes in Abby and all the other displaced Fireflies after Joel’s hospital massacre.
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Since no one else could pull off the menace and gravitas required for this character, Wright is reprising his role in the TV adaptation, much like Dandridge. Therecently releasedLast of Usseason 2 trailerteased Wright’s return with a near-shot-for-shot recreation of Isaac’s introductory scene, torturing a Seraphite prisoner. Based on that moment alone, Wright’s turn as Isaac looks to be just as intimidating in live-action. Isaac only appears in a couple of scenes in the game, butThe Last of Usseason 2 has the opportunity to explore this character and his backstory in more depth.
Could Any Other Voice Actors From The Game Appear?
When looking at voice actors who could join the live-action version ofThe Last of Us, it might be best to see what new characters will appear in the series. Jesse, a character fromThe Last of Us II, is coming to season 2 of the HBO series, played by Young Mazino.The man who voices Jesse in the game is Stephen Chang. He could be a great addition to the HBO series, and he has the experience needed to play a major character, as he is one of the main supporting cast members ofBosch: Legacy, where he plays Mo.
Shannon Woodward is someone else who could fit in well inThe Last of Uson Max. She voiced Ellie’s girlfriend, Dina, in the video game. Dina shows up in season 2, played by Isabella Merced (Transformers: The Last Knight), but there is always a place for someone with Woodward’s talent in any TV show. She even has a history on HBO, where she appeared inWestworldas Elsie Hughes. Most recently, Woodward starred ina voice role inCommon Side Effects.
A few other video game adaptations used the original voice actors in one way or another.The most obvious of these is inThe Witcheron Netflix,which brought back several voice actors to star in the streaming series. The most famous of these is MyAnna Buring. In 2016, she voiced Anna Henrietta, the beloved Duchess of Toussaint inBlood and Wine. In 2018,The Witchercast her to play rectoress Tissaia de Vries.
A second was Antony Byrne, who voiced King Foltest inThe Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings. He played the Nilfgaardian general Hake on Netflix. Lu Corfield voiced Iris von Everec inHearts of Stoneand played the widow Marites on Netflix. Alastair Parker voiced one of Novigrad’s crime bosses, Cleaver, inThe Witcher 3. In Season 2 ofThe Witcher, Parker played a dock guard.
The Last Of Us
Cast
The Last of Us is a post-apocalyptic drama series set two decades after a global catastrophe. It follows Joel, a seasoned survivor, who is tasked with escorting Ellie, a teenage girl, across a desolated United States, transforming into a harrowing journey of survival and companionship.
