Naughty Dog’s The Last Of Us took the world by storm when it was released in 2013 on Playstation 3. Widely praised as one of the greatest video games of all time, it is known for both its incredible characters and deeply immersive story. Fans eagerly awaited The Last Of Us Part II, and it quickly broke sales records upon its release in 2020.
A game is nothing without the creative team behind it. The voice actors play a considerable role, especially in such a character-driven franchise. Their work is a direct reflection on fan attachment to the characters, and ultimately the success of the game.
10 Ashley Johnson Was A Successful Child Actress
Before she was Ellie Williams, Ashley Johnson began her career as a child actress, doing both voice and live-action acting work in television. Not only did she snag a role at a young age as Chrissy Seaver in the classic sitcom, Growing Pains, but she starred as the smart but quirky Gretchen Grundler in Disney’s Recess.
Since then, Johnson has continued to lend her voice to popular animated shows such as Teen Titans Go!, Infinity Train, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
9 Each Character Had Both Actors & Face Models
Many animators model characters after the voice actors and their unique facial expressions. The Last Of Us did things a bit differently. Each character had a voice and motion-capture actor, as well as a face model, and sometimes a separate body model as well.
While Shannon Woodward voiced Dina, her likeness is based on Cascina Caradonna. Abby was modeled after both VFX artist Jocelyn Mettler and CrossFit athlete Colleen Fotsch.
8 Troy Baker Has Voiced Two Different Batmans (& Two Robins)
Troy Baker is a man of many voices. He has worked in some of the most popular video games in the industry, and he is skilled at both voice acting and capturing each character’s movement via mo-cap. Though he has been involved in both Marvel and DC, Baker is a heavy presence in Batman, specifically.
Along with The Last of Us‘s Joel, Baker has voiced various iterations of Batman and Robin, playing Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, and Tim Drake.
7 Critical Role Crew
Ashley Johnson and Laura Bailey, who play Ellie and Abby, are regular members of Geek and Sundry’s D&D web series, Critical Role. Many of the other actors in the group have also provided voice work for minor characters in The Last Of Us franchise.
The web series gained such popularity that its first campaign is now an animated television series titled Critical Role: The Legend of Vox Machina.
6 Laura Bailey Is Married To One Of The Rattlers
Laura Bailey is far from a novice when it comes to voicing famous video game characters, and her work as Abby has gotten a significant amount of attention. A lesser-known fact is that she is married to another voice actor that worked on the game.
Travis Willingham, the voice of the lead Rattler, married Bailey in 2011. They not only share creative projects and D&D sessions, but they have a son together.
5 Marvel Connections
Fans that can’t get enough of the cast of The Last Of Us need look no further than Marvel’s Avengers. Laura Bailey voices Black Widow, Travis Willingham plays Thor, and Troy Baker lends his voice to Bruce Banner.
Those that aren’t fans of the game can watch the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s 2012 installment of The Avengers. Ashley Johnson has a small part as a waitress reminiscing about when Captain America saved her life.
4 A Famous Rap Artist Lent His Voice In A Small Role
Known professionally as “Logic,” Robert Bryson Hall II (credited as Bobby Hall) has recently added acting to his list of talents. The twice Grammy-nominated artist cameoed as the voice of one of the Rattlers near the end of The Last Of Us Part II.
The rapper recently retired from his music career so that he can focus on fatherhood, but it is still entirely possible that he will continue to expand his voice acting work in the future.
3 Common Video Game Enemies
The Last Of Us Part II received a mixed reception from fans due to the controversial plotline that led to Joel’s brutal death. This isn’t the first time that Laura Bailey and Troy Baker have found themselves voicing characters at odds.
Baker voiced Sam Drake to Bailey’s Nadine in Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End. It seems like Bailey’s characters tend to either really want to or succeed in killing Baker’s characters.
2 Lev Is Portrayed By A Trans Man
Praised for its representation via the relationship between Ellie and Dina, The Last Of Us Part II also deserves recognition for its inclusion of Lev. The young, trans-male character plays a significant role in a subplot between Abby and the Seraphites.
Ian Alexander, a trans actor who previously worked on The OA, provides the voice and motion-capture acting for Lev. This is a win for many proponents of LGBT representation with the belief that trans roles should always be offered to trans actors.
1 Westworld Connections
Similar to its connections to Marvel, The Last Of Us Part II also has ties to HBO’s Westworld. Both Shannon Woodward (who stars as Dina) and Jeffrey Wright (who plays Isaac) have had significant roles in the series.
The connections are not exclusive to the actors, though. The narrative lead for Naughty Dog’s game, Halley Gross, was also a writer for the show.
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