Warning: This article contains spoilers for the eighth episode of The Last Of Us.
The Last Of Us fans were treated to a very special cameo in this week’s episode that threw it right back to the original video game that inspired the hit series.
In the eighth instalment of the dystopian drama, Bella Ramsey’s character Ellie finds herself confronted with a group of cannibals, including cult leader David and James, a senior member of his sect.
James ultimately met a grisly end at the hands of Ellie, who had been left to fend for herself while Joel (portrayed by Pedro Pascal) was injured.
What some viewers might not have realised is that James was portrayed by Troy Baker, who played protagonist Joel in the original Last Of Us video games via motion capture and voice acting.
However, the cameo definitely wasn’t lost on devotees of the hit video game, and its TV adaptation…
After his cameo appearance aired, Troy tweeted: “Tonight was unreal. Hearing the response to this episode does this old boy’s heart good.
“I’m beyond grateful. Amazing performances by all.”
Showrunner Neil Druckmann – who also created the Last Of Us game – revealed he watched the episode with Troye.
Neil wrote on his Instagram: “Had the pleasure of watching tonight’s episode with this fella. Troy, you killed it! (And it killed you!) Super proud of my friend.”
Speaking to Deadline before the episode aired, Troy recalled: “Neil was coy about this potential role. He was like, ‘So, there’s a character that we have in mind for you, if you’re interested. If you don’t feel interested, it’s totally fine’. And I’m like, ‘Dude, if there’s anything for me…’.
“Look, I thought I was going to be a clicker. So, this is an upgrade... I was so happy. And then, when reading the script for James, I was like, ‘OK, there’s a good challenge’.”
He also heaped praise on Pedro Pascal, who portrays the character he originated, telling Vulture: “All I really wanted [was] for Pedro, or whoever is going to play this character, to just teach me something new that I didn’t realise about the character. ‘What did I miss? Was there a blind spot that I had? Was there some element to it that we could’ve explored more?’
“The thing that Pedro does is he brings this vulnerability that I don’t think we could’ve done in the game because of the nature of it. In the game, you’re healing yourself from bullet wounds, so it’s really hard to be like, ‘Oh, ow, my broken hand’.
“In the show, we have the opportunity to exploit some of those vulnerabilities. Pedro does that in amazing ways.”
The first seven episodes of The Last Of Us are now available to watch on Now, with new episodes every Monday.
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