Episode 3 of HBO's hit post-apocalyptic series The Last of Us presented a bold departure from the eponymous video game from which the series is adapted. The love-filled and heartwarming episode offered a break from the intense action that made up the first two episodes. Thankfully, the gamble paid off as the episode is now widely regarded as the best of the series so far and is equally the most viewed. Now, we are learning from Nick Offerman, who plays the character of Bill, on which the episode is largely focused, that he would never have been a part of the series had it not been for the convincing power of his wife, Megan Mullally.
During his appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live last night, Offerman detailed how his part in the show came to be. Offerman had received the script from screenwriter and series co-creator Craig Mazin during a time when he was busy and simply had no time to squeeze in another gig — thus, despite being impressed by the script, he was still considering passing up on it, until his wife interfered. "I didn't have time on the calendar to say yes to this job," Offerman told Kimmel. "And my incredible goddess of a wife read it and said, 'You're going to Calgary, buddy. Have fun! You have to do this.'"
Offerman's performance as the grumpy survivalist Bill was simply brilliant. Deviating from the games, the episode dived deep into Bill and Frank's (Murray Bartlett) love story, beginning from their meeting to how they fell in love, and closing out with their demise by suicide, which was different from the fate of the NPC characters in the games. Mazin had earlier this week explained why he chose to cast Offerman, who for the most part is best recognized for playing comic roles, in a more serious role. “Vince Gilligan said once that he loves hiring comic actors for non-comic roles,” Mazin explained. “Because they have an innate humanity that is there underneath the drama, and they understand the absurdity of the world because that is the bedrock of comedy. And I think Nick is a great example of what Vince is talking about. He just, there’s a humanity to him underneath this gruff, angry, closed-off man.”
As the 12% surge in viewership from the previous episode proves, fans are obviously impressed by "Long, Long Time." Many of them have taken to social media to shower praise on the show lauding its writing as well the performance of its stars. Speaking about the positive reception to Kimmel, Offerman described it as "a tsunami of wonderful, generous plaudits." The actor further joked that HBO sent him on the Jimmy Kimmel show "to cull the stragglers. They're like, 'The 17 of you who haven't seen it yet, you're in for a treat.'"
Episode 4 of The Last of Us will air on HBO and HBO Max this Sunday at 9 PM ET. Check out the rest of Offerman's interview below: