The Last of Us Cast Breakdown
#10: Melanie Lynskey
This New Zealander plays Kathleen, a dangerous revolution leader and one of a handful of characters original to the show. But chances are good you’ve seen her on your TV screens before. One of her biggest roles was as Rose, Charlie’s friendly stalker on “Two and a Half Men,” one of the most successful sitcoms of all time. She also voiced Beatrice in the animated Halloween staple, “Over the Garden Wall,” and plays the adult Shauna on Showtime’s “Yellowjackets,” which earned her a Lead Actress Emmy nom in 2022. On the film side, she’s mostly starred in indie fare like 2017’s “I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore” and played supporting roles in big movies, like 2021’s “Don’t Look Up.”
#9: Storm Reid
After making her film debut in the Oscar-winning “12 Years a Slave,” Storm Reid has never slowed down. She picked up several supportive roles before teaming up with Disney to star in 2018’s “A Wrinkle in Time.” Unfortunately, it was neither a financial success nor a critical one, though that had nothing to do with Reid’s performance. Since then, she’s peppered her filmography with critically acclaimed releases. She played Sydney in the excellent “Invisible Man” reboot, Bloodsport’s daughter Tyla in “The Suicide Squad,” and starred in 2023’s “Missing.” In “The Last of Us,” she plays Riley Abel, a crucial figure in Ellie’s past. However, this isn’t her first HBO show; you can also see her on “Euphoria” as Rue’s younger sister, Gia.
#8: Lamar Johnson
For all our Canadian viewers, you may be familiar with Lamar Johnson’s dancing abilities on teen drama “The Next Step,” where he played West for over 100 episodes. In fact, teen drama has made up his biggest roles. In the 2018 adaptation of “The Hate U Give,” he played Starr’s older half-brother, Seven. He also played Charlie in the 2020 adaptation of YA romantic drama, “All the Bright Places.” In between those features, he briefly appeared in 2019’s “Dark Phoenix,” though its immensely poor reception didn’t do much to help with recognition. In the HBO series, Johnson plays Henry, who allies himself with Joel and Ellie in order to protect his younger brother Sam, played by newcomer Keivonn Woodard.
#7: Anna Torv
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While some characters in “The Last of Us” don’t appear until much later in the story, Tess is an early ally to players, and a strong willed one at that. In the show, Joel’s complicated love interest is played by the Australian born Anna Torv. Torv is best known for playing lead character Olivia Dunham on Fox’s sci-fi series “Fringe,” which earned her several Saturn Awards. She also played the lead in the Australian political thriller series, “Secret City” and starred on Netflix’s “Mindhunter” as Dr. Wendy Carr. Tess isn’t even the first video game character she’s played. Before breaking through with “Fringe,” Torv voiced Nariko in both the “Heavenly Sword” game and its animated adaptation.
#6: Scott Shepherd
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David is the leader of a group of survivors and doesn’t appear until the game’s third act, playing a major role leading up to the climax. In “The Last of Us” TV show, Scott Shepherd takes on the role. After getting started with the NYC-based theater company, the Wooster Group, Shepherd began picking up small roles in film. His breakthrough came when Steven Spielberg cast him in 2015’s “Bridge of Spies.” He followed it up with 2016’s “The Young Pope” for HBO, where he played Cardinal Dussolier. He has yet to play the leading man, playing supportive roles in “El Camino” and “Dark Phoenix.” Following “The Last of Us,” he’ll appear in another work from an Oscar-winning filmmaker: Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon.”
#5: Nick Offerman
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The Illinois-born Nick Offerman has been acting since the mid 90s. But it wasn’t until his breakthrough role as Ron Swanson on “Parks and Recreation” that most people began to take notice. The role brought the actor many opportunities. He’s done voice work, such as MetalBeard in the “Lego Movie” franchise, and hosted the competition series “Making It” with “Parks” co-star Amy Poehler, which earned him two Emmy noms. He also voices Beef Tobin on Fox’s animated sitcom, “The Great North,” and has played supportive parts in major comedies like “21 Jump Street.” As the paranoid survivalist, Bill, Offerman takes on a role unlike anything else he’s done. Along with Murray Bartlett as Bill’s partner, Frank, it’s earned him critical acclaim.
#4: Merle Dandridge
While Troy Baker, Ashley Johnson, and Jeffrey Pierce also appear in the series, Merle Dandridge is the only one to reprise her original role from “The Last of Us” game. As Marlene, leader of the Fireflies, Dandridge effortlessly steps back into the character that sets Joel and Ellie on their journey. Players have likely heard her voice before as Alyx Vance in “Half-life 2” and its expansions. She also earned a Best Performer BAFTA as Kate Collins in the adventure game, “Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture,” and briefly re-teamed with “Last of Us” creator Naughty Dog for “Uncharted 4.” On TV, she played the lead in the Oprah Winfrey Network drama, “Greenleaf,” and currently appears on ABC’s fire house drama, “Station 19.”
#3: Gabriel Luna
After graduating from St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas in 2005, Gabriel Luna worked on making his acting dream a reality. Throughout the 2010s, he appeared in small movie roles like 2011’s “Bernie,” and starred in two short-lived drama shows: “Matador” and “Wicked City.” However, it was his role as Robbie Reyes on “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” that brought him into geek culture. On the big screen, he played the ruthless REV-9 in 2019’s “Terminator: Dark Fate.” As Joel’s brother Tommy, Luna plays one of the more central characters. The two have a strained dynamic in the games, which has also been explored on the show. Next, he’ll appear in the Netflix spy series, “FUBAR,” reuniting with Arnold Schwarzenegger.
#2: Bella Ramsey
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As the lead character Ellie, Bella Ramsey has some huge shoes to fill. But if her resume is any indication, she’s up to the challenge. Her first role was as Lyanna Mormont on “Game of Thrones,” a character that was only meant to appear in one episode. But Ramsey’s stellar portrayal ensured that wouldn’t happen. Fantasy has proven to be a great genre for her. She played Mildred Hubble in the first three seasons of “The Worst Witch” and voices the lead character on “Hilda,” both for Netflix. She returned to HBO for a guest role on “His Dark Materials” and played the lead in Lena Dunham’s historical comedy, “Catherine Called Birdy.” No matter what she does next, we’ll be sure to pay attention.
#1: Pedro Pascal
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The Chilean-born Pedro Pascal has become one of the world’s favorite actors over the last decade. After appearing in guest roles on multiple TV shows, he hit it big when he played the charismatic Oberyn Martell on “Game of Thrones.” This opened him up to starring roles, like Netflix’s “Narcos” and “The Mandalorian,” one of the better-received pieces of “Star Wars” media in recent memory. It hasn’t all been TV work, though. He’s dabbled in the comic book movie space, appearing in 2017’s “Kingsman: The Golden Circle” and playing villain Maxwell Lord in “Wonder Woman 1984.” Although Joel is another dark role for the actor, he has shown he has comedic talent with movies like “The Bubble” and “The Unbearable Weight of Massive
