Before actor Pedro Pascal signed on to play Joel in HBO’s The Last of Us, he called his sister for advice. Unknown to him, her children were in the car, and their input must have helped convince Pascal that he should take the part.
In a video roundtable interview with co-star Bella Ramsey, screenwriters Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann, and head of PlayStation Productions Asad Kizilbash, 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 called to express their concern about the incident.
“I didn’t even know they were in the car. I said, “I was talking about this great job, it’s actually based on a video game, and it’s called The La…”
Then his nephews shouted, “THE LAST OF US?! YOU HAVE TO GET A JOB!”
That’s not the only story Pascal told about being cast as Joel. Before that, he recalled how after Mazin and Druckmann told him he got the job, he took Ambien to help him sleep. He woke up the next day hoping he had the job, forgetting (due to the Ambien haze) that he already had it.
The Last of Us has been showing strong ratings for HBO, so it was no surprise when the network announced that the show was renewed for a second season. Season 1 will be cover the events of the first Last of Us gamethere is rumored to be a season 2 follow the story of The Last of Us: Part II and meet new characters, including Abby.
Episode 8 of The Last of Us airs this Sunday, March 5th, and another episode will air on March 12th to wrap up Season 1. Among other things, episode 8 will be to introduce a new character played by Troy Bakerthe actor who played Joel in the video games.
When it comes to The Last of Us game series, Naughty Dog is on a roll Last of Us multiplayer game, and more details are expected to be revealed later this year. Also, Naughty Dog said it may not make The Last of Us: Part IIIbut nothing has been decided yet.
As for PlayStation Productions, it was also behind Uncharted, starring Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg. The company is producing upcoming films based on PlayStation games such as Gran Turismo, Days Gone, Ghost of Tsushima and Gravity Rush, as well as the Twisted Metal, God of War and Horizon series.
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