Here's What The "The Last Of Us" Cast Look Like Vs. Their Video Game Counterparts

Kicking off the main casting duo is Pedro Pascal who is no stranger to a top-rated TV series! Having starred in Game of Thrones, Narcos, and The Mandalorian, Pascal has now stepped into the shoes of the leading man, Joel.

Joel is a hardened apocalypse survivor with his own troubled past whose task is to get Ellie to a quarantine zone.

Verdict: I've got a good feeling about this one.

You will remember Bella Ramsey as the feisty young noblewoman, Lyanna Mormont, in Game of Thrones. Now, she's starring in the HBO series as Ellie, a 14-year-old girl who is immune to the infection and could be the key to a vaccine.  

Ellie is a young girl who thinks she can survive on her own, but little does she know, just how much she'll come to rely on Joel.

Verdict: If Ramsey will give as good as she gave in GOT, then we're in for a treat.

Gabriel Luna is known for playing Ghost Rider in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and REV-9 in Terminator: Dark Fate. Luna plays Tommy in The Last of Us TV adaptation and looks a little different from his video game counterpart.

Tommy is Joel's younger brother, a former soldier, and someone who wants to do more than just survive in the post-apocalyptic world.

Verdict: HBO's Tommy may be a bit more clean-cut as opposed to rough and ready in the first episode, but I'm excited to see whether this will change over time, along with the level of depth Luna will bring to the character.

Anna Torv starred in 100 episodes of the sci-fi mystery Fringe from 2008–2013, and more recently as Dr. Wendy Carr in Netflix's Mindhunter. Now, for The Last of Us, she heads up the role of Tess.

Tess is another hardened survivor and Joel's smuggler partner. The show ramps the two up as romantic interests compared to the game.

The casting may not be a complete match physically (noticeably the more toned-down hair color) but I think Torv's acting skills will embody the fierce, albeit calm demeanor that Tess carries.

Merle Dandridge has been in her fair share of TV shows from Station 19 to Truth Be Told, but hardcore fans will also know that she did in fact play Marlene in both The Last of Us video games. So, you know, you could say she is a true OG.

Marlene is head of the Fireflies, the resistance movement that aims to gain freedom from the military setup that people are forced to live under. She's also the reason why Joel gets the mission of transporting Ellie!

Verdict: Well, we know the match is spot on! Plus, given that Dandridge is revisiting the character, I've got especially high hopes for watching her act out more of the live-action version of Marlene. Bring it on!

Nico Parker (daughter of Thandiwe Newton and Ol Parker, FYI) made her on-screen debut in the 2019 adaptation of Dumbo. Now, look at her, as Sarah, Joel's daughter.

It has to be said that Sarah is definitely in one of the most important scenes in both the film and game. Saying that, I'm still not over the sequence of events, so let's not mention it, okay?

Verdict: Sure, there's a stark difference between how the characters look, but Parker's performance in the pilot went above and beyond capturing the emotion behind THAT scene. I'm a huge fan!

Nick Offerman joins The Last of Us in Episode 3 of season 1 as Bill. Though you probably know him as Ron Swanson in Parks and Recreation. 

Bill is a survivor living in his isolated sanctuary, outside of Boston. He's adapted to the new world and built many barricades and traps to protect himself, though eventually he forms an uneasy alliance with Joel and Ellie. He's a quirky and paranoid fellow, but can you blame him? 

Murray Bartlett appears in the show as Frank, Bill's partner. He recently played Armond in The White Lotus.

Melanie Lynskey is introduced to us as Kathleen in Episode 4 of The Last of Us. Lynskey is known for her role as Molly Strand in Castle Rock and has more recently starred in Yellowjackets and Don't Look Up.

Kathleen is the leader of a revolutionary movement in Kansas City. The new character seems to be largely inspired by The Hunters (in the game, the Hunters are a group of survivors who rose up against the FEDRA military regime and take back the Kansas City quarantine zone).

Jeffrey Pierce reunites with The Last of Us by playing Perry. I say reunites because Jeffrey actually voiced (and did the motion capture for) Tommy in the video game. You will also know Pierce from Castle Rock and Call of Duty.

Perry is a character that has been created for the show. He looks to be a high ranking member in Kathleen's group of survivors.

Lamar Johnson appeared in the final moments of Episode 4, introducing the character with a bit of a bang! Johnson previously starred as Kofi Jones in Your Honor and as Match in Dark Phoenix.

In the game, Henry is a survivor who left Hartford after the military abandoned the quarantine zone. He is protective of his little brother, Sam, and they both entered Pittsburgh to search for supplies but were ultimately ambushed by The Hunters.

Child star Keivonn Woodard is pretty much being propelled into the spotlight by starring as Sam in The Last of Us. He has only previously been credited in a History movie called Seeds of Hope: The Andrew Jackson Foster Story. He is a 9-year-old deaf actor.

In the game, Sam is the 13-year-old brother of Henry. Before diverting to Pittsburgh, their intentions were to meet up with the Fireflies.

Rutina Wesley is introduced to us in Episode 6 of Season 1. Wesley plays Tommy's wife, Maria Miller. If you recognize the actress, it may be because she played Tara Thornton in True Blood and Reba McClane in the Hannibal TV series.

In the game, Maria met Tommy after he left the fireflies, and they grew close, eventually getting married. Her and Tommy both became the leaders of their safe haven settlement in Jackson, Wyoming, in which families started to settle in. 

Verdict: Maria's TV adaptation still carries a no-nonsense attitude as with the game, but her character has been changed quite a bit! For starters, TV Maria is pregnant but Tommy and Maria didn't have kids in the game. Her character also seems to have a little more humility in her delivery when she talks about the community she's built, and her past as a district attorney wasn't something that came up in the game. I'm all here for these tweaks though and loved Wesley's take on the character so far.

Storm Reid appears in Season 1, Episode 7 of the show. Euphoria fans will recognize her immediately, as she's spent the last few years playing Gia Bennett in the drama. She's also featured in some pretty big films, including The Invisible Man and The Suicide Squad.

Riley is mentioned in The Last of Us game but stars more prominently as a deuteragonist in the downloadable content, The Last of Us: Left Behind. She's a 16-year-old survivor who became best friends with Ellie after intervening when a group of bullies was beating Ellie up. Both characters had a profound impact on each other, and it's indicative that they had feelings for one another.

Verdict: Riley's character seems to be a faithful adaptation, but the show amped up her involvement in the Fireflies a bit more, as she's seen protecting weapons for the group so that they can use them against FEDRA. In the game, her involvement with the group doesn't seem as direct. It's also worth noting that the DLC's fun water pistol in the mall fight isn't translated into the show!

Scott Shepherd joins The Last of Us in Episode 8. He has a few movie roles under his belt, including Dark Phoenix and El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie, but you may also recognize him from his handful of appearances in Season 3 of True Detective. 

In the winter chapter of the game, David appears as the leader of a cannibalistic group of survivors, and encounters Ellie when she is hunting deer. Not too much is known about his past, but it is clear that he and his friend, James, have built a trusting bond together.

Verdict: Scott Shepherd may not be the physical reincarnation of David, but he certainly mirrors the uneasiness, deceiving charisma, and damn right creepy ways of the video game version. When we are introduced to this part of the storyline in the show, I'd say it's a fairly accurate retelling of what he and Ellie went through. Though the show definitely gave more scope to look into his backstory a little, by placing him as a teacher turned preacher, and showing him to have more of a hold on his cult-like community.

Troy Baker stars as James, who is also introduced in Episode 8 of the series. Baker isn't new to the franchise, though, having portrayed Joel in the video game! That's right, he is the original voice and motion capture for the main man. You may have also heard of Baker as he has voiced the Joker in a few of the Batman games, as well as Samuel Drake in two of the Uncharted games. 

James was virtually the second-in-command to David. Though their dynamic is somewhat interesting given that after the men's first interaction with Ellie, he was close to disobeying orders and wanted to kill her on the spot.

Verdict: The on-screen James does look a little different to the video game version, but the TV version is just as impactful on viewers, and no doubt, Ellie's character. Without giving away too much, the adaptation seems to have done a stellar job of recreating the butcher table sequence between him, David, and Ellie.

The Last of Us finale certainly gave fans a glimpse of someone we have never previously seen, and that is a face to the character of Anna Williams, aka Ellie's mother. But, did you recognize Ashley's voice at all? Because one pretty cool thing about the actress playing Anna in the show is that she's no stranger to the story...and that's because she is the original Ellie in both parts of the game! 

In the game, we never met Ellie's mother. We simply knew of Anna from the small moments in which Ellie reads a letter that Anna wrote to her on the day she was born, and because Ellie carried a pocketknife that once belonged to her mother. She was mentioned in passing, too, so we knew that Marlene and her were friends.