Before actor Pedro Pascal signed on to play Joel in HBO’s The Last of Us, he called his sister to ask for advice. Unbeknownst to him, her children were in the car, and their input seemingly helped Pascal be convinced he should take the part.
In a roundtable video interview with co-star Bella Ramsey, writers Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann, and PlayStation Productions boss Asad Qizilbash, Pascal recalled the events surrounding his casting. He said he called his sister, who was taking her children to school, and was on speakerphone when his nephews chimed in to express their excitement about it.
“I didn’t even know they were in the car. I was like, ‘I’ve been having a conversation about this amazing job, it’s based on a video game, actually, and it’s called The La…'”
Then his nephews yelled, “THE LAST OF US?! YOU HAVE TO GET THE JOB!”
This isn’t the only story Pascal has told about getting cast as Joel. Before this, he recalled how after Mazin and Druckmann told him he had the job, he took an Ambien to get to sleep. He woke up the next day hoping he’d gotten the job, forgetting–due to the Ambien haze–that he already had it.
The Last of Us is putting up big-time viewership numbers for HBO, so it came as little surprise when the network announced that the show had been renewed for a second season. Season 1 will cover the events of the first Last of Us game, with the rumor being that Season 2 will follow the story of The Last of Us: Part II and introduce new characters, including Abby.
The Last of Us Episode 8 airs this Sunday, March 5, with one more episode to come on March 12 to wrap up Season 1. Among other things, Episode 8 will introduce a new character played by Troy Baker, the actor who portrayed Joel in the video games.
As for The Last of Us game series, Naughty Dog is developing a multiplayer Last of Us game, and more details are expected to be divulged this year. Beyond that, Naughty Dog has said it might not make The Last of Us: Part III, but nothing is decided yet.
As for PlayStation Productions, it was also behind the Uncharted movie starring Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg. The company is producing the upcoming films based on PlayStation games like Gran Turismo, Days Gone, Ghost of Tsushima, and Gravity Rush, as well as the TV series Twisted Metal, God of War, and Horizon.
The products discussed here were independently chosen by our editors.
GameSpot may get a share of the revenue if you buy anything featured on our site.
