The Last of Us game: cast of video game series with Merle Dandridge - and what else have they been in?

HBO series The Last of Us is adapted from the 2013 video game of the same name which follows two survivors set out on a seemingly impossible mission decades after a devastating outbreak has turned most of humanity into cannibalistic mutants.

Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey star in the live action HBO series which airs on Sky Atlantic in the UK - the series is fast becoming one of the most popular video game adaptations of all time. Often video games don’t translate well to TV or movie formats - Assassin’s Creed, Prince of Persia and Super Marios Bros. are prime examples.

However, The Last of Us has pulled in millions of viewers per episode and has been a critical success. Several of the original voice actors from the video game series appear in the HBO show , although the main cast is largely different.

This is what the voice actors from The Last of Us video game have also starred in and who they play in the HBO serries:

Who stars in The Last of Us video game?

Troy Baker as Joel

Baker has the main role in the game series as Joel, the apocalypse survivor tasked with transporting a young girl across a dangerous United States still battling a mutated fungal virus outbreak. Pedro Pascal plays Joel in the HBO series.

Baker has a cameo role in episode eight of The Last of Us, playing a character called Tommy. His other roles include voice work for hundreds of video games, among them the Call of Duty series, and instalments in the Halo, Diablo, Star Wars, and Lego Batman franchises.

Ashley Johnson as Ellie

Johnson plays Ellie, Joel’s charge who is believed to hold the key to curing the virus - she is the only known human to have natural immunity. Game of Thrones star Bella Ramsey plays Ellie in the TV series.

Johnson also makes a brief appearance in the live action series, playing Anna in episode seven, Left Behind. She has also appeared in more than 300 episodes of the weekly Dungeons and Dragons role playing series Critical Role, and voiced Pike in animated Prime Video series The Legend of Vox Machina.

Merle Dandridge as Marlene

Dandridge plays Marlene the leader of the militia group Fireflies in the video game - she is the only actor to play the same role from the game in the series, appearing in episodes one, seven, and nine.

She starred in the lead role in drama series Greenleaf, played  inZarina Killebrew AppleTV series Truth Be Told, and Natasha Ross in Station 19. Her other video game appearances include Half-Life 2, Hitman 3, and Uncharted 4.

Jeffrey Pierce as Tommy

Pierce voices Joel’s younger brother Tommy - the pair split up in the early years of the outbreak and joined the Fireflies. He cameos as Perry, a rebel commander in episodes four and five of the series.

Pierce’s other roles include appearances in the drama shows Castle Rock, Cult, and The Tomorrow People - he has also had voice roles in the Call of Duty and Medal of Honor video games.

Hana Hayes as Sarah

Hayes plays Joel’s daughter Sarah, the character played by Nico Parker in the series. Sarah’s death at the start of the outbreak is a major moment in Joel’s life that haunts him throughout the series.

The Last of Us is Hayes’ only video game role - she has also appeared in comedy series The Grinder, drama mystery series T@gged, and horror sequel Insidious: The Last Key. she is also due to appear in the upcoming comedy film The Furry Fortune.

Annie Wersching as Tess

Wersching plays Tess, a close ally of Joel who also helps to protect Ellie during the mission to take her across the country - Tess is played by Anna Torv in the series.

Wersching’s recent roles include playing Leslie Dean in Runways, Julia Brasher in Bosch, Borg Queen in Star Trek: Picard, and Rosalind Dyer in The Rookie. She also starred in Mindhunter, as discussed on the latest episode of Screen Babbe.

W. Earl Brown as Bill

Brown plays survivalist Bill, a supporting character in the video game who is played by Nick Offerman in episode three of the series. Bill establishes a fortress home and lives with his partner Henry, who he met after the outbreak, largely apart from the rest of the survivors.

Brown played Don Dority in the western series Deadwood and the 2019 TV movie spinoff of the same name. He has also featured in American Crime, Preacher, True Detective, and The Book of Boba Fett.

Brandon Scott as Henry

Scott plays Henry, the older brother and fierce protector of Sam, who was born after the outbreak. Sam and Henry meet Joel and Ellie and the group are involved in fighting with the infected.

Scott is known for his roles in the TV shows Goliath, 13 Reasons Why, and Dead to Me. He also featured in the video games Battlefield 1 and Uncharted 4.

Nadji Jeter as Sam

Jeter voiced Sam, Henry’s 13 year old younger brother in the game - he forms a bond with Ellie when he meets her whilst travelling to join the Fireflies.

Jeter has also voiced Miles Morales in several Spider-Man videogames, played Keenan Reynolds in TV series Reed Between the Lines, and appeared in the films The 5th Wave, Wonder, and The Runner.