HBO’s The Last of Us Used Heavy Make-up To Cover One Character’s Real-Life Injury

The Last of Us season two is gearing up for its 2025 release on HBO, which will see plenty of new faces enter the post-apocolytic arena, but one face, in particular, from season one had to have heavy make-up applied to them due to an accident the night before filming their scene. Season two of The Last of Us can't come soon enough for many fans who were left on a cliffhanger at the end of season one, in which Ellie, played by Bella Ramsey, was left traumatized after her horrific run-in with cult leader David. Viewers also saw Ellie doubting Joel, played by Pedro Pascal, following his questionable actions with the Fireflies, just as they are about to head into Jackson, so season two will likely address this huge elephant in the room.

The Last of Us season one's ending also saw the appearance of Ashley Johnson as Ellie's mother, who ends up getting bitten by an infected person just before giving birth, as well as a huge showdown at the Firefly hospital where Joel saved Ellie but subsequently kills Merlene in a bid to stop her from looking for Ellie again. It's fair to say that season one ended just as brutal as the Naughty Dog game and, from the looks of it, the horrors don't stop as the show will soon move into its second season.

The Last of Us Character Needed Make-up To Cover a Black Eye

Talking to Gamology about his time on The Last of Us set as James, a member of David's survivors, Troy Baker discussed his appearance on the show, while also reflecting on how great Pedro Pascal's performance was as Joel, who Baker had previously voiced in the games. Sharing unique insights from his experience voicing the iconic character as well as offering behind-the-scenes commentary on interesting aspects of the show, Baker also plated up a juicy bit of gossip regarding John Hanna, who played the scientist Dr. Neuman in episode one of The Last of Us. According to Baker, Hanna suffered an accident where he walked into a window and received a black eye, so the make-up department on set had to do some heavy-lifting in regard to making Hanna look better for his filming shoot the next day. In the YouTube video of Baker talking, an image of Hanna as Dr. Neuman can be seen and, sure enough, a slightly dark area around his left eye is actually noticeable.

Baker also states that even though he loved playing James in HBO's The Last of Us, he believes that he understands video games better than TV or movies, and is a lot more familiar with the gaming environment, where he feels he can adapt much easier. He also says how amazingly Pedro Pascal portrayed Joel Miller and how happy he was at the show's "new version" of the iconic gaming character.

The Last of Us season two will see the return of Pedro Pascal as Joel, Bella Ramsey as Ellie, and Gabriel Luna as Tommy, but the series also ushers in a host of new cast members. Kaitlyn Dever will take on the role of Abby Anderson and Jeffrey Wright as the ruthless leader of the Washington Liberation Front, Isaac Dixon. Another particularly interesting character in The Last of Us season two is Catherine O'Hara's character, whom very little is known about. However, some fans believe that she might be a love interest for Joel or his therapist, but only time will tell as season two inches closer.