A Quick and Easy Guide to All the Characters in the Last of Us

Naughty Dog’s massively successful video game now has an equally successful adaptation in The Last of Us. The series has been a faithful adaptation so far, with many of the characters from the games recreated with uncanny accuracy by the actors in the show. While everyone may be familiar with Joel and Ellie, there are plenty more characters that fill out the world of The Last of Us, and we’re going to introduce you to them all here as well as the actors who play them.

Be warned there will be some mild spoilers from the game ahead so don’t continue if you want to go into the show completely blind.

If you want to catch up on The Last of Us you can stream available episodes on Binge.

The Last of Us: Character guide

Joel

Played by: Pedro Pascal (The Mandalorian, Game of Thrones) in the show and Troy Baker (Bioshock Infinite) in the games.

When we first meet Joel Miller, he’s a construction contractor and single dad living with his daughter in Texas. Post-outbreak, he’s a hardened smuggler who embarks on a dangerous journey to take Ellie across the country to a Firefly camp. Joel has spent years doing the hardest of things to survive, which has left him with little desire for things like love, but that starts to change after he bonds with Ellie.

Ellie

Played by: Bella Ramsey (Game of Thrones) in the show and Ashley Johnson (Critical Role) in the games.

Ellie is an orphan who grew up in FEDRA’s military system in the Boston Quarantine Zone. She’s a 14-year-old with a refreshing dose of heart, humour and optimism, considering she’s grown up in the apocalypse. After learning she may hold the key to curing the cordyceps infection, Ellie embarks on a journey with Joel to reach the Fireflies.

Tess

Played by: Anna Torv (Fringe, Mindhunter) in the show and Annie Wershing (The Vampire Diaries) in the game.

Tess is Joel’s partner and another hardened smuggler. The Last of Us made it explicit in the series that the two are a couple, but it’s Tess who is the more optimistic and pragmatic of the two.

Tommy

Played by: Gabriel Luna (Terminator: Dark Fate) in the show and Jeffrey Pierce (Castle Rock) in the game.

Tommy is Joel’s younger and more headstrong brother. He’s flitted between different groups, moving from the army pre the outbreak to the Fireflies post-outbreak, which drove a wedge between him and his brother. Now he’s settled in Wyoming.

Fun fact: Jeffrey Pierce, who voiced Tommy in the game, is also set to appear in The Last of Us as a rebel named Perry.

Sarah

Played by: Nico Parker (Dumbo) in the show and Hana Hayes (T@gged) in the game.

Sarah has a short but significant role in The Last of Us. As Joel’s daughter, Sarah proves she is every bit her father’s equal. In both the game and show, Sarah is the window through which we experience the first days of the outbreak and remains a spark of innocence in a quickly degenerating world.

Marlene

Played by: Merle Dandridge (in the show and the game).

Marlene is the leader of the Fireflies in Boston and the one responsible for putting Ellie in Joel and Tess’ care. She’s also uniquely played by the same actor in both the series and the game.

Bill

Played by: Nick Offerman (Parks & Recreation) in the show and W. Earl Brown (Deadwood) in the game.

Bill is a paranoid survivor living in a remote town near Boston. He’s managed to defend himself for years from raiders and infected with an array of traps around his property.

Frank

Played by: Murray Bartlett (The White Lotus) in the show.

Frank is Bill’s partner, and that’s everything we really know about him. He’s a character who only shows up as a corpse in the game, but it appears he’ll have an expanded storyline in the show, which seemingly confirms he and Bill are in a romantic relationship.

Henry

Played by: Lamar Johnson (Your Honor) in the show and Brandon Scott (Dead to Me) in the game.

Henry is a survivor that Joel and Ellie meet in Pittsburgh in the game. Henry is dedicated to his younger brother Sam, who he is fiercely protective of.

Sam

Played by: Keivonn Woodard in the show and Nadji Jeter (Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales) in the game.

Sam is Henry’s younger brother and, like Ellie, represents some innocence in this bleak world. He and Ellie form a close bond once the group is travelling together. Sam will be deaf in The Last of Us, which is one change to his character from the game to the show.

David

Played by: Scott Shepherd (Bridge of Spies) in the show and Nolan North (Uncharted) in the game.

David is one of the main antagonists in the winter chapter of The Last of Us video game. He’s manipulative, deceptive and sinister, with a taste for violence underneath a charming facade.

Riley

Played by: Storm Reid (Euphoria) in the show and Yaani King (Saving Grace) in the game.

Riley is Ellie’s best friend, who leaves FEDRA school to become a Firefly. She plays a key part in Ellie’s backstory and was there when she was infected.

Kathleen

Played by: Melanie Lynskey (Yellowjackets) in the show.

Kathleen is a new character introduced in The Last of Us series. Not much is known about her character, but it seems she will be the ruthless leader of a rebel movement in Kansas City.

Maria

Played by: Rutina Wesley (True Blood) in the show and Ashley Scott (UnReal) in the game.

In the games, Maria is a leader in the Wyoming community and is also Tommy’s wife.

Anna

Played by: Ashley Johnson (The Last of Us) in the show

Anna is Ellie’s mother, who is mentioned only by name in the games. We never got to meet her, but it seems that we will in The Last of Us series, where she’ll be played (poetically) by Ashley Johnson, who first played Ellie in the games.

That’s a brief guide to all the characters you’ll be meeting in The Last of Us TV show – or the game if you choose to play it. If you want to find out what happens to them, you can watch The Last of Us on Binge on Mondays or read our recaps here.