The actor who played Joel in The Last of Us video game has now appeared in the wildly successful HBO adaptation, showing up in Sunday’s most recent episode.
Ever since The Last Of Us first hit our screens, fans have been praising the show for everything from its writing to the world-class performances from its cast.
At the start of the year, audiences were first introduced to the HBO Max series, which is the first live-action adaptation since the video game wowed audiences way back in 2013.
Just like the games, the series is set in a post-apocalyptic world ruled by an unstoppable, brain-eating, fungal outbreak that transforms humans into cannibals.
Per Deadline, the show’s first 2 episodes were viewed by over twenty million people, making it HBO’s fourth current show to average over fifteen million viewers, and now we’re on the sixth episode and it’s only growing.
It’s no wonder that they’ve already renewed it for a second season!
The writers have been commended for honouring the original source material, which rapidly gathered a devoted fan base when it first came out. The engaging storylines, impressive visuals, and music propelled it to its massive success.
For those who haven’t watched the show, Joel, portrayed by Pedro Pascal, is a ruthless smuggler who is responsible for transporting the young teen Ellie Williams (Bella Ramsey) to a medical facility situated on the opposite side of the country after it turns out she’s immune to the infection, leading him to believe she could hold the cure to the deadly parasite.
The Last of Us premiered on January 15, and has been met with rave reviews from both critics and fans, resulting in an unbelievable score of 99 percent on Rotten Tomatoes when it first hit screens.
But now, all eyes are on the last episode, which was arguably one of the tensest yet.
This Sunday we got to see the characters that are involved in one of the game’s most brutal points.
These characters are known as the Silver Lake Cannibals, who, in case you can’t already tell by the name, are a pretty gruesome lot.
We learn about the new cannibal colony of survivors under the leadership of the preacher David (Scott Shepherd). The resort community was famished and freezing under David’s leadership, but there was no central authority in Jackson and everyone was accountable for the group’s well-being.
David imposes his will on his people, believing himself to be a higher entity who can make choices for others, and does so by invoking God as protection from criticism.
Because of this, David starts serving human meat to the locals — a horrific secret that only his closest friends and family are aware of.
But along with David, we get to see another character join the show. James, played by Troy Baker, who voices Joel in the original games, is David’s right-hand guy.
In an interview with Vulture, Baker said he was content to “be in the stands rather than on the field” and that he was never “promised a part” in the TV version.
“But out of the kindness of their hearts, both Neil [Druckmann] and Craig [Mazin] were like, ‘Hey, we think we have a role for Troy that would be meaty,’ pardon the pun.
“Neil asked, ‘How do you feel about playing James?’ I’m like, ‘Oh, dude, thank you. Who’s James?’”
He continued: “That’s what I love about this story. We have the opportunity to explore characters who may have been looked over in the game – characters who perform their function well but don’t necessarily do anything to move the story forward.”
Fans have a lot to say after finding out the news, with one writing: “The Joel voice actor reveal was so unexpected we finally got it after all these years.”
While another said: “I love that tv show TLOU includes the video game actors. that is honestly so cool. had no clue the voice actor for Joel was in last night’s episode until after but I love itttttt.”
What did you think?
