HBO's The Last of Us, which makes its television premiere this January, is based on Naughty Dog's post-apocalyptic game of the same name, with showrunners Craig Mazin (Chernobyl) and Neil Druckmann (co-creator of the video game) penning. The series takes viewers on a journey across a post-apocalyptic United States, infected by the Cordyceps virus that turns its victims into cannibalistic creatures.
Leading this journey is Joel (Pedro Pascal), a ruthless survivor who's tasked with escorting a teenage girl, Ellie (Bella Ramsey), across the country. While casting choices have been controversial, previous works from the actors have already proven that they were well-prepared for the roles. One of Pascal's most notable roles is the titular character in The Mandalorian, who picks up the task of protecting "the Child" as a lone bounty hunter. Ramsey is most known for their role as the fierce and sharp-tongued Lyanna Mormont on Game of Thrones. In a roundtable interview attended by CBR, Pascal and Ramsey dove into their respective roles, and it was apparent that the two were born to play the surrogate father-daughter duo.
Ramsey noted that were aspects they shared with Ellie when asked how they related to the character. "A great portion of my relatability to Ellie has to do with her love of puns and her love of cursing," Ramsey said. "Ellie actually taught me to curse and taught me how to do it well," they continued, which Pascal complimented. "Bella curses very, very naturally off camera," he added.
Ramsey continued, saying that within the first two scenes they got for their audition tape, Ellie "felt like somebody that was a part of me already. This happens sometimes. You read the scripts, and they really are an expression of you in a different, certain way." Ramsey's portrayal of Ellie might be different from what fans of the game expect from Ashley Johnson's work as Ellie, but Ramsey's love for Ellie proves to be deep and appreciative. "She's been the best character that I've gotten to play," they said. "I hope to continue to play her if enough people watch the show and we get more seasons."
Additionally, Pascal's Texas upbringing lent a helpful hand in preparing for his role as Joel, especially when it came to his accent. "Joel's from Austin," Pascal explained. "So a thick Texas accent, I guess, is technically applicable. Before I was two years old, my family landed in San Antonio, and I lived there until I was nearly 12 years old." To Pascal, it was all about taking what stuck with him in his childhood and applying it as an actor. "It was just more a matter of playing with what's in my system already," Pascal said. "What's a sound that shapes the words that are on the page? What harkens to something that is from the game and familiar to us already?" Pascal also seems to embrace his inner Joel, comparing finding his Texan accent to finding sweet music. "It was just sort of like, 'What is the music of it all?' A bit of twang was definitely part of it."
A rich aspect of The Last of Us is the relationship between Joel and Ellie, which is a love-hate relationship that, in the games, is similar to a surrogate father-daughter relationship. Ramsey reflected on this relationship, saying, "They express love for each other in a way that's true to who they are as people." They continued, "It never feels forced or cringey. They love each other and call each other assholes. That's how they share their love." Another element of their relationship that Ramsey pointed out is that Joel and Ellie, despite their polar-opposite personalities on the surface, are actually quite similar. "They're resistant to each other," Ramsey described. "They clash so much because they're so similar. I think it's very scary seeing yourself in somebody else."
One of the biggest questions going into the series is the role of Ashley Johnson and Troy Baker and how the original video game voice cast fits into this retelling of The Last of Us. Pascal and Ramsey described crossing paths with the video game versions of themselves. "Getting to meet them on set was a very special experience," Ramsey expressed. Pascal also added, "It was all kind of moving and unique, unlike anything I'd ever experienced before because I needed their original authorship to inform my own." Despite having met on set, Ramsey said there was no formal "meeting" to discuss their roles. "We did shy little Instagram follows and likes and slid very cautiously into each other's DMs." It harkens back to when Ramsey said they were cautioned to not play the game ahead of production, as Ramsey said they thought it was a "conscious, strategic thing" to let the two interpretations of the characters exist side-by-side.
Truly, Pascal and Ramsey wouldn't be Joel and Ellie without the help of the writers, Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann. When asked by CBR what Mazin and Druckmann were like as creative partners, Pascal complimented the writers, saying "their profound understanding of these characters and care for the characters and their relationship was something to deeply rely on in the process." For any fan still skeptical of the adaptation -- considering video game adaptations don't have the best reputation -- rest assured the series is in "good hands," according to Pascal. "So much of it is evident from the source material and from the pages of the adaptation," Pascal said. "If there was a question, Neil and Craig were there to answer it." Ramsey further praised the writers as well. "They're just so passionate about the show and the story," they said, "that we felt immediately [it was] in good hands and held by them."
With the co-creator of the video game itself and an Emmy-award-winning writer for television, it's hard to doubt that fans have preconceived ideas coming into the show. These expectations mostly derive from the game's massive, loyal fanbase that has only grown since The Last of Us gained a 2020 sequel and was remastered for the Playstation 5 in 2022. Speaking on these expectations, Pascal mentioned that the large-scale passion of the fans is what's special about these kinds of projects. "The passion they have for it really eliminates the other part of it," he described, "which can really feel like a lot of pressure."
Despite the pressure he mentioned, Pascal recognized that adaptations rely on "a mutual love for the material" on both the writers' and fans' parts. "It's all based on the creators' desire to, hopefully, find an even wider audience and to deepen the love," Pascal assured.
The Last of Us premieres on HBO and HBO Max on Jan. 15 at 9:00 PM ET/PT.