The Last of Us’ Troy Baker tells us how to make your death scene count

Troy Baker was always a strong believer. Many people are familiar with him because of his prolific voice acting and the role he played as Joel in the PlayStation games. Last of UsAnd Part 2 of The Last of Us. But the games’ fan community can also count him as one of its most prominent members — from day one, there have been few bigger Last of UsHe is more stan than he.

Baker, like many who love the story kicked off by Naughty Dog’s 2013 video game, fully believes that Last of Us is “one of the greatest stories ever told,” both for the plight of its human characters and for the way that it brought a uniquely immersive and cinematic texture to big-budget video games, effectively changing them forever.

Where? Last of Us made the leap to HBO, Baker was looking forward to making the transition to 100% fan, watching from “the stands,” as he put it. But then he got the call to once again be a part of Joel and Ellie’s story — this time as James, the right-hand man of a preacher with dark secrets.

Interview with Baker from Los Angeles via Zoom.

Polygon: How did you describe the show before it? Last of UsPeople?

Troy Baker The same as I did after seeing the episode. It’s a good idea. Last of UsIt is one of most memorable stories. And the reason why is because it’s not about you know, infected. It’s not about post-apocalypse, it’s not about survival horror, it’s a story about love, and what love looks like in this world, and how terrifying that is. So to me, it’s been one of the greatest games ever, because everything about the game was inspired by the story.

What’s the experience been like watching the Recast the Joel role and translateTo a new medium? Are you finding it strange?

I wouldn’t necessarily call it recasting; I think that they cast the game, and now you cast the show. So it’s not like — there was nothing lost, to me. Pedro was the only thing that could have caused a loss. [Pascal] stepped into this role — or really anybody — and decided to mimic something that had already been done.

It’s like, well, that’s a lost opportunity. We have all these new tools at our disposal in which to tell the story; let’s exploit those tools. We don’t have a controller, we don’t have gameplay. So let’s lean into the tools that we do have and let’s tell a different version of the story that way. Pedro has a completely different sensibility.

Joel (Pedro Pascal) sitting and leaning against a rock wall and looking at a fire

An older Joel from The Last of Us Part 2 looks at the camera.

Yeah, it’s like how one of the greatest compliments you can give to an actor is “I love your choices.”

The choices are amazing, my friend. There’s typically one or two every episode that Pedro does and it’s like, Oooooh, that’s good. Neil is a real person, I’m sure. [Druckmann]Craig was the exact same. [Mazin]. The choice to make Sam deaf — Craig was like, “I got this idea. I think I want to make Sam deaf.” And Neil was like, “A great choice!”

That wouldn’t have worked as well in the game. It adds an extra layer to their relationship.

You may be wondering how you got involved in the program. Did you know they were trying to make room for the game’s voice cast?

Yes, that was not an assumption, and it wasn’t a given. You knew it all the time. It’s over, the watch is gone.We had a great opportunity to enjoy this tale in a completely different manner. It’s a great opportunity to stand in the stands and not be on the field.

When Craig and Neil were like, “Hey, we have a role for you,” I was expecting kind of like a walk-on. It was a small cameo and a wink at the audience. You might like [with a]You know what clicker would be wearing? A flannel blouse or something similar to Joel’s.

James has a far greater role than this!

James is such a reflection of what this show is all about, which is: Let’s build upon, let’s not replace, and this character is one of those characters that you kind of glossed over in the game. We have the opportunity to explore this world in this series. He is who? How does he fit in to this story? Everybody that we’ve seen so far in the show somehow serves as a counterpoint to Joel or Ellie. And, to me, there’s an element of James that does both.

There’s a difference between he and Joel; there’s a similarity between he and Joel. And there’s a vast difference between he and Ellie. And that is what David sees in James, which is that he’s a pragmatist and someone that is capable [and] has this position, but isn’t violent. Ellie, however, is [violent]David is violent. He has, as he says, a “violent heart.”

That is the thing he lacks in a peer or equal. James knows that James is unable to be his peer and equal, and James picks it up. And that’s why he wants Ellie as far away from him as possible.

David (Scott Shepherd) standing in front of his people, with a banner behind him that reads “When we are in need he shall provide”

You said James is not a violent man — do you think he’s also not a believer in the way David is, or pretends to be?

Not at all, and I don’t think David is either. This is my interpretation — this is what I love about being on the other side of this, the conversation. In history, we have witnessed people who want to control and oppress. Their easiest tool is faith and belief. But at the truth of it, it’s hope, they weaponize hope against the desperate.

And that’s what these people are. They’re not bad people. They’re desperate people. They’re people who have gone through a really, really, really hard winter. And as James says, “They haven’t lost faith. They’re just scared.” And when you couple fear and desperation, in the face of despair — when you strip them of all their resources — these people don’t have food, much less anything else tangible. Once all tangible comforts have been lost, the only thing left is hope.

David used that to his advantage. So when James looks at him and he says, “Well, maybe it’s God’s will” — this is an intellectual debate that we’re seeing. And he’s using that against David, to go, Take this woman away. It’s an intellectual debate to say that, as well as, “She’s just another mouth to feed.” So now he’s even chipping away at [David’s]Ability to lead. And that’s why David stops. What does David do next? He turns to everybody else, and he quotes a verse — actually not even a verse, but we find out that’s [a quote from]Another person who oppresses people of faith.

Did you ever have high hopes when you learned that you would be playing James? Maybe a cool death scene?

Honestly, when I first found out that I was gonna play James, I was like, “Dude, thank you so much. It’s very, very gracious — who is James?”

Because he wasn’t a big character. Then I realized that I really was, Oh, yeah, he’s gonna die horrifically. I love death scenes. They’re great. One of the advantages of doing a game is that if you’re the player character, you get to do multiple death scenes.

However, you can only die one time in this show. But how do you make this count?

Dude, sell out whenever you can because you don’t know who is going to be your next close-up. [laughs]All sales final

#Troy #Baker #tells #death #scene #count