How to Get Cast on HBO’s ‘The Last of Us’

Based on Neil Druckmann and Bruce Straley’s hit 2013 video game and its 2020 sequel, “The Last of Us” TV series was adapted by Druckmann and Emmy winner Craig Mazin, the creator of HBO’s limited series “Chernobyl.” Set 20 years after the Cordyceps brain infection turned much of the population into cannibalistic, zombie-like mutants, the series follows Joel Miller (Pedro Pascal), a smuggler tasked with escorting teen Ellie Williams (Bella Ramsey) across postapocalyptic America, as she might hold the key to developing a cure. (Incidentally, Pascal, the lead of Disney+’s “The Mandalorian,” and Ramsey, who had a breakout turn in Lena Dunham’s “Catherine Called Birdy,” are both veterans of HBO’s “Game of Thrones.”)

Together with his brother, Tommy (Gabriel Luna), and his smuggling partner, Tess (Anna Torv), our heroes must battle killers and cannibals as they trek across the barren landscape. But as Joel and Ellie approach their destination, echoes of the smuggler’s past prompt him to do whatever he must to save the girl who’s become a daughter figure.

Season 2 takes place five years after the events of the first season. Based on the sequel game, Season 2 will explore the mounting tension between Joel and Ellie as they deal with the consequences of their past decisions—choices that could threaten their long-term survival. The new installment also promises an even more dangerous world with new characters (and more fungi zombies, of course).

Season 1’s ensemble featured a host of well-known names, including:

• Pedro Pascal as Joel Miller
• Bella Ramsey as Ellie Williams
• Gabriel Luna as Tommy Miller
• Nico Parker as Sarah Miller
• Merle Dandridge as Marlene
• Jeffrey Pierce as Perry
• Anna Torv as Theresa “Tess” Servopoulos
• Murray Bartlett as Frank
• Nick Offerman as Bill
• Melanie Lynskey as Kathleen Coghlan
• Lamar Johnson as Henry Burrell
• Keivonn Woodard as Sam Burrell
• Storm Reid as Riley Abel
• Rutina Wesley as Maria Miller 

Joel and Ellie’s voice actors from the video game also appear in small roles during Season 1—Troy Baker played James, the second-in-command at a cannibalistic settlement on Episode 8, and Ashley Johnson played Anna Williams, Ellie’s mother, in flashback scenes during the Season 1 finale.

Jeffrey Wright, who voiced Isaac in “The Last of Us: Part II” video game, will reprise the character on Season 2, which will also welcome Kaitlyn Dever as Abby Anderson, Tati Gabrielle as Nora Harris, Isabela Merced as Dina, Young Mazino as Jesse, Danny Ramirez as Manny Alvarez, Spencer Lord as Owen Moore, Ariela Barer as Mel, and Catherine O’Hara as Gail.

Emmy-winning CD Victoria Thomas (“Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood,” “Watchmen,” “Insecure”) led the casting department on Season 1.

With an established following already in place, Thomas knew actors would likely come into the audition with a preconceived notion of who these characters should be—and that was precisely what she didn’t want to see in the room. “We weren’t looking for an imitation thing here,” she told us. “Be prepared and make a choice coming in, but also be open to being able to shift and move if someone says, ‘Try a little bit of this or a little bit of that.’ ”

After all, as she said previously, she likes when people come into the room prepared, but she also fosters a welcoming environment where actors can simply be themselves. “If you’re not [prepared] and you need another minute, that’s fine. You can go out and take another couple of minutes; I understand,” she said. “Sometimes, you come in and your mouth doesn’t work, and you just need to take a break and go outside. But it’s hopefully a relaxed atmosphere where [actors] can do their best audition and feel good going out the door.”

For Thomas, casting Joel and Ellie, in particular, meant finding actors whom the audience would “want to return to watch every week,” she said. However, Pascal, who was the team’s first choice for Joel, wasn’t originally available—but Thomas “swooped in” when she saw an opening. “He read it over a weekend and was in from the get-go. So we really lucked out there,” she said.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Pascal said “he wanted the part so badly it literally scared him.” However, the actor was concerned that the producers of “The Mandalorian” wouldn’t want him headlining a rival network’s show. Thankfully, they “very generously” allowed Pascal to take the role, he said—and the rest is TV history. As for Ramsey, it only took a month to secure an offer to play Ellie after their initial audition. In the same interview, Druckmann explained that the team was looking for someone who could be “tough and vulnerable and wise beyond [their] years and also have a potential for violence”—and the young actor fit the bill. “Bella felt so real,” he added. “It was like Ellie realized in live action. It didn’t feel like watching an actor.” 

Thomas echoed the sentiment, telling us Ramsey was “fierce,” and adding, “[They were] the right age, young but mature, and [they] came in and did a great reading.”

However, Ramsey was hesitant about the role. The young actor told the Hollywood Reporter, “I seriously considered that maybe I don’t want to be famous, so I’m not going to do this show because it’s going to propel me to a place I don’t want to go to in terms of being seen and being known. I like to blend in and hide.” Luckily for fans, they decided to step into the limelight after all.

Of course, “The Last of Us” would be nothing without its supporting cast, which includes the stars of Season 1, Episode 3, “Long, Long Time,” Nick Offerman (Bill) and Murray Bartlett (Frank). For this emotional episode, Thomas needed to find two actors who could bring the chemistry despite being polar opposites. 

“Casting chemistry is a hard thing to quantify,” Thomas said. “Nick and Murray are…two great actors who are opposites, [and they portray] emotions in different ways. Murray wears it on his sleeve; Nick is a little less wearing it on his sleeve.” And judging by everyone’s sudden desire to stream the titular Linda Ronstadt tune after the episode aired, we’d say casting hit the nail right on the head.

When casting the pivotal role of Abby Anderson, however, Druckmann and Mazin were met with pushback from the game’s loyal followers as they were not convinced that Dever, who ultimately landed the part, could properly bring the character to life. But as Druckmann told Entertainment Weekly, the showrunners knew they couldn’t possibly find anyone better suited to usher in this next chapter of their story.

“We value performance over anything else,” he said. “We need someone to really capture the essence of those characters.... We don’t value as much: Do they look exactly like the character with their eyebrows or their nose or their body? Whatever it is. It’s not nowhere on the priority list, but it’s below a bunch of other things that we consider.” He added, “We would’ve struggled to find someone as good as Kaitlyn to play this role.”

Druckmann continued, “Kaitlyn has the spirit of the game in her. What I always loved about the idea was that you are going to continually be challenged as you were in Season 1. When you try to pick a hero, it’s tough because we’re human beings; we’re not heroes. For every heroic act, there’s someone who suffers on the other side who may see you reasonably as a villain. When you look at Kaitlyn, there’s just something in her eyes where, even no matter what she’s experiencing, you connect. It was important that we found somebody that we could connect to the way we connect to Bella.”

On April 9, HBO announced that “The Last of Us” would be getting a third season. 

“It can’t be overemphasized how proud HBO is for the outstanding achievement we believe the second season of ‘The Last of Us’ is,” EVP of HBO programming and head of HBO drama series Francesca Orsi said in a press release.

“Craig, Neil, Carolyn and the entire executive producer team, cast and crew have delivered a masterful follow-up and we’re thrilled to carry the power of Craig and Neil’s storytelling into what we know will be an equally moving and extraordinary third season.”

Rumblings about “The Last of Us” Season 3 were first reported by Collider. The outlet revealed that Season 3 would tentatively begin filming in the summer of 2025 in Vancouver, where much of Season 2 filmed.

“The Last of Us” creators also essentially confirmed there would be multiple installments ahead of the show’s Season 3 renewal. “We don’t think that we’re going to be able to tell the story even within two seasons [Seasons 2 and 3] because we’re taking our time, and go down interesting pathways, which we did a little bit in Season 1 too,” Mazin told Deadline. “We feel like it’s almost assuredly going to be the case that—as long as people keep watching and we can keep making more television—Season 3 will be significantly larger. And indeed, the story may require Season 4.”

We spoke exclusively to Mazin about his fan-first approach to adapting the video games and his plans for upcoming seasons—here’s what the director says about the hit show.

There are no open casting calls for “The Last of Us” Season 3 at the moment as the show’s next chapter remains in preproduction. Keep your eyes on this page for future casting information, however, because in February 2022, the series issued a casting notice with Backstage. Production was looking for Black male talent, aged 8–14, to play the role of Sam. Filming took place in Calgary. (Newcomer Keivonn Woodard ultimately landed the part.)

If you’re interested in exploring similar opportunities in the meantime, we recommend checking out these background and streamer gigs that are hiring now. Our roundup of similar gigs might be of interest, too. You can also check out our guide on how to audition for HBO.

Every actor knows the business isn’t always kind. But “Yellowjackets” Emmy nominee Melanie Lynskey, who plays Kathleen Coghlan on “The Last of Us,” says she’d tell her younger self that rejection isn’t a reflection of who you are as an actor—or a person. “I think a piece of advice I would give is: You’re OK,” she told us. “I try to visit my younger self sometimes and just go, ‘I’m sorry. You’re all right. People love you.’ I just felt very much like I wasn’t enough a lot of the time, in regards to my work and in a lot of ways. I didn’t get a lot of positive feedback that I was enough, and it makes me sad, you know? That’s one thing I’m trying to raise my daughter to know—that she’s absolutely perfect just as she is, and she’s very loved. And she’s so confident. The other day I told her she’s cute, and she goes, ‘And smart and funny.’ ”

Dever, who’ll join the series on Season 2, has echoed these sentiments about rejection, noting many don’t quite understand how common “no” can be—but it’s that “yes” that must continue to fuel your passion. “I did so many auditions,” she told us. “It sounds [easy] when I say, ‘Oh, yeah, I did 11 commercials in that first year,’ but I did so many auditions. People don’t quite understand how many times you get told no. The very few times you get told yes, it just feels so amazing. That ‘yes’ makes you want to keep on going.”

Torv, who plays Tess, cautions actors to avoid letting their career define their identity. In an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald, she talked about her decision to take a break from acting after five seasons headlining Fox’s supernatural drama “Fringe.” “I love acting—it’s all I have done, and I hope I work until I die; but it doesn’t define me,” she said. “I am myself whether I have a job or whether I don’t have a job. And I’m always astounded to hear that actors who have worked consistently get scared of not getting another job—because it’s like: How are you not going to get another job in your life?”

If you really want an insider’s perspective on how CDs make their picks—and why certain auditioners stand out above the rest—Thomas suggests stepping behind the casting table yourself. “When actors work in a casting office, they learn a lot and are surprised by being on the other side of the camera and watching actors come in. I think they have a better sense of how to come into a room—or that when you’re coming into the room, we want you to be good. We’re not against you,” she told us. “They also have a better sense of why somebody gets picked over someone else, and it doesn’t have to do with a bad audition. Actors who work in a casting office are surprised at what they learn. I think it affects [them] the next time they go into a room to audition themselves.”