There is only one episode left for the first season of The Last of Us comes to an end and possibly by now you feel that Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey they are already like part of the family. The two actors have been able to get to know their characters perfectly and there is no one at the moment who doubts how well they interpret joel and ellie. However, none of them was the first option that came to mind for those responsible for the series of HBO Max…
Ellie’s age, key to the choice
When it was discovered that Bella Ramsey would be in charge of interpreting Ellie, not everyone was satisfied. Many thought that the physical resemblance between the actress and the character in the PlayStation video game was conspicuous by her absence and they did not quite see that her profile fit to give life to the teenager. Nor was it the first choice of those in charge of adapting the story in serial format.
As they have already confessed on more than one occasion, the search for the perfect actress for the role was hard-fought and there were many who auditioned for it. Among the options that were considered before Bella, were maisie williamswho gave life to Arya Stark in Game of Thronesand Kaitlyn Deverprotagonist of the miniseries believe me from Netflix and with a strong resemblance to Ellie. Both also had quite a few possibilities, however, Bella’s great talent managed to unseat them, being the ideal person to embody someone vulnerable and mature while also being a person capable of using violence with credibility.
Not only that was decisive for the election: age de Williams and Dever were playing against her, as her 24 and 25 years at the time of shooting were hard to convert into Ellie’s 14, while Bella was 18 while shooting. And, she hears her, thank goodness because after the recent episode 8 it is impossible to doubt that she is perfect for her role.
Before Pedro they thought of Mahershala
The last thing that has been known is that the great Peter Pascal nor was he guaranteed the role at first. This was revealed by surprise by Jeffrey Pierce (who voiced Tommy, Joel’s brother, in the video game) in a recent interview with The Direct. In it he comments on the initial possibility that he considered whether or not to play Tommy in the series: «I think they had initially talked to Mahershala Ali about playing Joel, which was an obvious sign that he wasn’t going to play Tommy […] And when they chose Pedro, I knew it certainly wasn’t going to happen. [porque] I am older than Pedro Pascal. I had no illusions about it«.
Pierce, who ultimately played Perry, Kathleen’s right-hand man, in the episodes 4 and 5has thus revealed that the initial idea was to have the great actor from Green Book and Moon light as the protagonist, without knowing why he finally did not get the role. Maybe schedule incompatibility with her next big project as Blade in the MCU? Or maybe Pascal just ended up convincing more with his charisma? Be that as it may, we can hardly imagine a better Joel now, can’t you?
