How Does <i>The Last of Us</i> Cast Compare to Their Video Game Counterparts?

For the lead character of Joel Miller, show co-creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann needed someone who could be both warm and rugged, brusque and quiet, at one moment startlingly violent and the next achingly tender. His face needed to display the wear of decades of trauma, while still appearing a) handsome and b) opaque. And so they landed on The Mandalorian and Game of Thrones star Pedro Pascal, who trades his own personable wit for gritty pathos as the would-be father figure and weary traveler.

Ellie, a child somehow immune to the cordyceps infection, is one of the most universally adored characters in all of gaming. Finding the right actress to play her would always have been a challenge. As a 14-year-old in the original game, she’s naive but determined, quippy but vulnerable; as a 19-year-old in the sequel, she’s so filled with rage that she’s dangerous to everyone around her. As Ellie, Bella Ramsey finds the place where all these disparate emotions intersect.

In an interview with ELLE, director Craig Mazin reveals he knew Ramsey was the right Ellie from the moment he watched her audition tape. “In my mind, I was like, if we don’t cast Bella as Ellie, then I will go to my grave knowing that we could have made a better show than we did,” he said.

Joel’s daughter, Sarah Miller, gets only a few scenes worth of screen time in both the game and the show, but her role is integral: Her death is what ultimately sets Joel on his path to Ellie. Sarah’s humor and innocence is expertly captured in Nico Parker, who fleshes out some of the character’s personality in the HBO show’s premiere episode. Seeing her at school the day of the outbreak makes it all the more awful when we’re forced to say goodbye.

Tommy, Joel’s little brother, needed the energy of a revolutionary and the survival skills of his kin—without the broken compass that obscures Joel’s morality. We also needed to love him as much as Joel does. As such, Gabriel Luna is a perfect match. So far, he’s only popped up in the premiere episode, but given Joel’s relentless hunt to find his only living family member, we can expect Luna’s Tommy to appear again soon.

Anna Torv is an obvious fit for the scrappy smuggler Tess. More than capable of handling herself alone, she still makes room in her life for Joel and, eventually, for Ellie. Unlike Joel, she comes sooner to the conclusion that Ellie is much more than just valuable cargo; the girl could make all their sacrifices, all their warped ethics, finally worth it. As such, her death in episode 2—and in the game—is meant to spur Joel forward on the path to save humanity. “Save who you can save,” she tells him. How exactly Joel interprets that directive, well…we’ll have to wait and see.

Merle Dandridge is one of—if not the only—actor from the original PlayStation game to reprise her role in the live-action series. As Marlene, leader of the rebel Fireflies, she delivers the message of hope that keeps both her people and Joel going: a young girl might save the world. Marlene’s time in the game is relatively short, but the HBO show might build upon her story further, fleshing out the emotional climax of her character arc.

Gruff and spiteful with a natural distrust of anything on two legs, video game Bill puts Ellie in handcuffs within moments of meeting her. He eventually helps her and Joel secure a car to drive out west, but not before he stumbles upon the dead body of his former lover, Frank, and declares—eyes filled with tears—“Well, fuck him.” In Nick Offerman’s capable hands, Bill gets a near-total makeover. He’s still bearded, of course; still a roaring survivalist libertarian; and still quick with an insult. But he gets a love story that ends on a message of hope, not horror, making Bill ultimately a heroic figure rather than a tragic one.

We’ve yet to meet Lamar Johnson’s Henry in The Last of Us TV show, but in the game he’s the loving guardian to his younger brother, Sam, as they hunt for the Fireflies outside Pittsburgh.

We haven’t met Keivonn Woodard’s Sam yet, either, but we do know at least one way in which his role will differ from the video game’s depiction. As a Deaf actor, Woodard will play Sam as Deaf; in the game, he is neither Deaf nor hard of hearing.

Finally, Euphoria actress Storm Reid will play Riley, Ellie’s friend from The Last of Us: Left Behind downloadable content pack. We don’t know how or when Riley will make her first appearance, but teaser trailers reveal the show will mimic scenes from the game, in which Riley and Ellie explore an abandoned shopping mall.