The transition from source material to live-action has always been a bumpy road. Live-action iterations rarely live up to expectations, especially when that source material already has past portrayals in animation or in gaming. HBO’s The Last of Us has proven to be an exception, as its actors are just as beloved as the cast in Naughty Dog’s classic.

The Last of Us‘s voice actors have grown attached to their characters and The Last of Us universe, so much so that a handful of them have cameoed throughout the first season of the show, which includes role reprisals. It’s a testament to both how special The Last of Us is and how faithfully the creators adapted the game.

Updated by Jordan Iacobucci on January 20, 2024: The Last of Us Season 2 is officially on the way, with important characters from the second game already being cast. The next season provides new opportunities for The Last of Us to include references to the original video games, including new cameos from voice actors.

6 Troy Baker Returns In A Very Different Role

Quite possibly the biggest hurdle HBO’s The Last of Us had to overcome was ensuring that Joel and Ellie could stand alongside Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson’s performances as the beloved duo. However, there’s no doubt that Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey both gave incredible performances and left their mark on the franchise.

Baker is one of the most prolific video game voice actors, having starred in games like Persona 4 and Bioshock: Infinite. The cynical and hardened Joel Miller is arguably Baker’s most iconic role. For the HBO show, Baker didn’t want to reprise his role or portray David, as he felt that would be too “on the nose.” Instead, Baker portrays James, David’s right-hand man who dies after Ellie kills him with a meat cleaver. It’s a minor role that was slightly fleshed out, but a fun cameo for long-time fans of the game.

5 Ashley Johnson Comes Full Circle As Ellie’s Mother

Long before Ashley Johnson first played Ellie, she had made a name for herself in voice acting. Some may recognize her voice as Gretchen Grundler in Recess, Peter Shepherd in the animated Jumanji series, or Gwen Tennyson in the Ben 10 series. In live-action, Johnson also played Patterson, a main role in Blindspot.

In a fascinating cameo, Johnson played Ellie’s mother, Anna, in HBO’s The Last of Us. Johnson not only gave life to Ellie in the video game, but she also gave life to her in the show. Anna only appears in the opening scenes of the first season finale, “Look for the Light,” which tells a short story of her seeking safety in a ranch house. Anna goes into labor, but an Infected attacks her while she gives birth. Ellie is born as Anna kills this Infected, but Anna is bitten in the process, explaining how Ellie came to be immune.

4 Jeffrey Pierce Takes An Antagonistic New Role

Family is at the forefront of The Last of Us franchise. While family doesn’t always mean blood relations, Joel does have a brother in Tommy Miller. In the game, Jeffrey Pierce voices Tommy. Pierce has only a few video game voice roles, mostly in military games in franchises such as Call of Duty and Metal of Honor. Pierce has appeared in numerous TV series, including The West Wing, CSI, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, and Justified.

In HBO’s The Last of Us, Pierce portrays an original character, Perry. Perry is a part of Kathleen’s resistance force in Kansas City, which is based on the Pittsburgh chapter of the game. Kathleen’s most trusted lieutenant is Perry, who is notable for his death at the hands of a Bloater, which is depicted just like a death animation in the game.

3 Merle Dandridge Returns In Her Original Role

Just like she did in the game, Merle Dandridge portrayed Marlene, the leader of the Fireflies and the catalyst for Joel and Ellie’s long journey. Dandridge is the only voice actor to fully reprise their role from the game. Dandridge had a particularly tough time filming the scene with Anna in the first season’s finale. This is because the heartbreaking scene was new to the HBO show, Anna and Marlene were childhood friends, and Anna is played by Ashley Johnson, who played Ellie in the games.

As a result, Johnson and Dandridge had an entirely new dynamic in the HBO show. Aside from Marlene, Dandridge is also well known for her role as Alyx Vance in Half-Life 2. She’s also had roles in TV series such as Sons of Anarchy, Greenleaf, and The Flight Attendant.

2 Misty Lee & Phillip Kovats Return As The Clickers

Voice actor cameos often serve as Easter eggs for fans of the source material. Nowhere was this more true than The Last of Us’ infamous Clickers. Clickers are one of the most terrifying stages of Infected in The Last of Us. They’re known for their sharp hearing due to their blindness.

Both Misty Lee and Phillip Kovats reprised their roles as the voices of these Clickers in the HBO show’s second episode, “Infected.” The physical Clickers were played by Olivier-Ross Parent and Samuel Hoeksema. Lee and Kovats’ distinct shrieks definitely brought back memories for gamers, and it would’ve been a great disservice to not include these actors in the HBO show.

1 Laura Bailey Makes An Easy-To-Miss Cameo

Not every cameo comes from the first game’s voice actors. Laura Bailey made a brief cameo appearance during the season finale. In the HBO show, Bailey played one of the two nurses who prepped Ellie for surgery. This wasn’t a throwaway cameo, as Bailey previously played Abby in The Last of Us: Part II, and her story is tied to that surgery room. Since Joel spared Bailey’s unnamed nurse, it is possible that she could receive a more extensive role in The Last of Us‘s second season.

Much like Baker, Bailey has an extensive video game resume. She starred alongside Baker and Johnson in Tales from the Borderlands and also appeared as Serah Farron in the Final Fantasy XIII trilogy, Chun-Li in multiple Street Fighter games, and Mary Jane Watson in Marvel’s Spider-Man.