Twenty years after a fungal infection collapsed civilisation, Joel Miller is a smuggler in the Boston quarantine zone who has stopped expecting anything from life. He's hired to move one more piece of cargo: a sharp-tongued fourteen-year-old named Ellie, who was bitten weeks ago and hasn't turned. Getting her across the country to a rebel group called the Fireflies is the whole plot of the first game. What happens between the two of them on the way is the reason people still talk about it.
The Last of Us began as a 2013 PlayStation game by Naughty Dog, followed by a sequel, Part II, in 2020. HBO's series, created by Craig Mazin and the games' writer and director Neil Druckmann, premiered in 2023 and adapts the story closely while changing a lot of details. This guide covers the characters in both, notes where the show departs from the games, and lists both casts.
- Developer
- Naughty Dog
- Games
- The Last of Us (2013), Left Behind (2014), Part II (2020)
- TV series
- HBO, 2023–, created by Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann
- Setting
- United States, about 20–25 years after the outbreak
- Genre
- Post-apocalyptic survival drama
Joel and Ellie
Joel Miller
Smuggler · Survivor
Joel was a single father in Texas when the outbreak began, and he lost his daughter Sarah on the first night. Two decades later he's a hard, closed-off man who survives by doing whatever the job requires. Escorting Ellie forces him to care about someone again, which he resists for as long as he can. His love for her, and what he's willing to do for it, drives the ending of the first game and everything that follows.
- Game
- Troy Baker
- HBO
- Pedro Pascal
Ellie Williams
The immune girl
Ellie is an orphan raised in a military boarding school in Boston. She's fearless, funny, profane and armed with a joke book full of terrible puns. She's also carrying the guilt of surviving a bite that killed someone she loved. In the first game she's the person who drags Joel back to life. In Part II she's nineteen, living in Jackson, and her story turns into a study of grief and revenge.
- Game
- Ashley Johnson
- HBO
- Bella Ramsey
Characters from the first game (HBO season one)
The first story is a road trip across a ruined America, and most characters appear for a chapter or two. Each one shows Joel and Ellie a different way of surviving.
Sarah Miller
Joel's daughter
Sarah is Joel's teenage daughter, and the prologue follows her on the night the world ends. Her loss is the wound behind everything Joel becomes. The HBO version gives her a longer, fuller day before the outbreak.
- Game
- Hana Hayes
- HBO
- Nico Parker
Tess
Joel's smuggling partner
Tess is tough, practical and the one who usually makes the deals. She and Joel are close in a way neither talks about. She takes the job escorting Ellie and believes in it more than Joel does at first. Her role is short but everything that follows comes from her choice.
- Game
- Annie Wersching
- HBO
- Anna Torv
Marlene
Leader of the Fireflies
Marlene leads the Fireflies, a militia fighting the military government and searching for a cure. She knew Ellie's mother and has watched over Ellie since she was a baby. She hands Ellie to Joel and Tess because she has no other way to get her out, and she faces the hardest decision in the story at the end.
- Game & HBO
- Merle Dandridge
Bill
Survivalist in Lincoln
Bill is a paranoid, booby-trap-obsessed loner who owes Joel favours. In the game he's prickly and bitter, and his partner Frank is already gone. The HBO series gives Bill and Frank a whole episode spanning years of their life together. It became one of the most talked-about episodes of TV that year.
- Game
- W. Earl Brown
- HBO
- Nick Offerman
Frank
Bill's partner
Only seen through a letter in the game. In the show, he's a warm, stubborn man who walks into Bill's trap and gradually into his heart.
- HBO
- Murray Bartlett
Henry
Survivor on the run
Henry is a young man looking after his little brother Sam, and he's made dangerous enemies to keep him safe. He and Joel recognise each other quickly: two people who will do anything for family. In the game they meet in Pittsburgh; the show moves the story to Kansas City.
- Game
- Brandon Scott
- HBO
- Lamar Johnson
Sam
Henry's younger brother
Sam is a kid who wants to have fun in a world that won't let him, and he becomes Ellie's first real friend on the road. The HBO series makes him younger and deaf, and his friendship with Ellie plays out through drawing and sign language.
- Game
- Nadji Jeter
- HBO
- Keivonn Montreal Woodard
Tommy Miller
Joel's younger brother
Tommy was a Firefly for a time and now lives in Jackson, Wyoming, a fortified town with power, horses and something like normal life. He's more hopeful than Joel and less willing to forgive the past they share. He becomes much more important in Part II.
- Game
- Jeffrey Pierce
- HBO
- Gabriel Luna
Maria
Leader of Jackson · Tommy's wife
Maria runs Jackson with a steady hand. The show gives her more to do, including a sharp first meeting with Ellie and a bigger role in season two.
- Game
- Ashley Scott
- HBO
- Rutina Wesley
David
Leader of a winter community
David is a soft-spoken, reasonable-sounding man who leads a group of survivors through a hard winter. He's kind to Ellie at first, and the more he talks, the more frightening he gets. His chapter is the darkest in the first story and the one where Ellie has to survive without Joel.
- Game
- Nolan North
- HBO
- Scott Shepherd
James
David's right-hand man
David's loyal follower, who has doubts he's afraid to voice. In the HBO series he's played by Troy Baker, Joel's game actor.
- HBO
- Troy Baker
Kathleen
Resistance leader · HBO only
A character created for the show. She leads the uprising that overthrew FEDRA in Kansas City and is hunting Henry for a betrayal that cost her brother his life.
- HBO
- Melanie Lynskey
Riley Abel
Ellie's best friend
Riley is a girl from Ellie's boarding school who ran away to join the Fireflies. Their last night together in an abandoned mall is told in the Left Behind expansion and in season one's seventh episode. It's playful, sweet and heartbreaking, and it explains a great deal about who Ellie is.
- Game
- Yaani King
- HBO
- Storm Reid
Anna
Ellie's mother
Mentioned in the game; seen in the show's season one finale, in a scene showing Ellie's birth. She's played by Ashley Johnson, who voices Ellie in the games.
- HBO
- Ashley Johnson
Characters from Part II (HBO season two onward)
Part II is set about five years after the first game. It begins in Jackson and moves to Seattle, where two factions are fighting a war in the ruins: the militarised Washington Liberation Front (the "Wolves") and a religious community called the Seraphites (the "Scars").
Abby Anderson
WLF soldier · Second lead of Part II
Abby is a soldier in the Wolves, intensely disciplined and driven by an old loss. The first half of Part II shows her only from Ellie's side; the second half puts you in her shoes for days of the same story. She's one of the most debated characters in games, and the point of her story is that she isn't so different from the people who hate her.
- Game
- Laura Bailey
- HBO
- Kaitlyn Dever
Dina
Ellie's girlfriend
Dina is warm, funny and confident, a Jackson patrol member who goes with Ellie to Seattle. She grounds Ellie when she's spiralling, and their relationship gives Part II its lightest, most human moments. She also has a life to protect, which sets up the story's hardest choice.
- Game
- Shannon Woodward
- HBO
- Isabela Merced
Jesse
Jackson patrol leader
Dina's ex-boyfriend and Ellie's friend, a dependable, community-minded young man who follows them to Seattle because someone has to.
- Game
- Stephen Chang
- HBO
- Young Mazino
Owen Moore
WLF soldier · Abby's ex
Owen is Abby's former boyfriend, gentle by WLF standards and tired of the war. He wants to get out and imagines a quieter life elsewhere.
- Game
- Patrick Fugit
- HBO
- Spencer Lord
Mel, Manny and Nora
Abby's friends in the WLF
Mel is a medic and Owen's partner; Manny is the group's joker; Nora is a fellow ex-Firefly. In Ellie's half they're targets. In Abby's, they're her family.
- HBO
- Ariela Barer, Danny Ramirez, Tati Gabrielle
Isaac Dixon
Commander of the WLF
Isaac is a former soldier who leads the Wolves with calm, total ruthlessness. He plays the same role in the game and the show, and the same actor plays him in both.
- Game & HBO
- Jeffrey Wright
Lev and Yara
Seraphite siblings
Lev is a young trans boy cast out by the Seraphites, and Yara is his older sister, who left with him. Their meeting with Abby changes the direction of her story, and Lev's bond with Abby is one of the warmest in the game.
- Game
- Ian Alexander and Victoria Grace
Gail
Jackson's therapist · HBO only
Created for the show: a dry-witted therapist who sees Joel professionally and has her own reasons to be angry with him.
- HBO
- Catherine O'Hara
Eugene
Former Firefly in Jackson
An old friend of Tommy's, mentioned in the game. The show expands him into a character whose fate creates new tension between Joel and Ellie.
- HBO
- Joe Pantoliano
The infected and the factions
The Cordyceps fungus turns people into the Infected, who pass through stages. Runners are newly turned and fast. Stalkers hide and ambush. Clickers are blind and hunt by echolocation. Bloaters are armoured and throw spore sacs. Part II adds Shamblers, which release acidic gas, and one unforgettable boss.
The human factions are often worse than the Infected:
- FEDRA — the military government that runs the quarantine zones.
- The Fireflies — the rebel group searching for a cure.
- Hunters and raiders — the gangs who ambush travellers in Pittsburgh (game) and the resistance in Kansas City (show).
- The WLF and the Seraphites — the two sides of Seattle's war in Part II.
- The Rattlers — a slaver group in Santa Barbara who appear late in Part II.
Cast: games and HBO side by side
| Character | Game actor | HBO actor |
|---|---|---|
| Joel Miller | Troy Baker | Pedro Pascal |
| Ellie Williams | Ashley Johnson | Bella Ramsey |
| Sarah Miller | Hana Hayes | Nico Parker |
| Tess | Annie Wersching | Anna Torv |
| Tommy Miller | Jeffrey Pierce | Gabriel Luna |
| Marlene | Merle Dandridge | Merle Dandridge |
| Bill | W. Earl Brown | Nick Offerman |
| Henry | Brandon Scott | Lamar Johnson |
| Sam | Nadji Jeter | Keivonn Montreal Woodard |
| Riley Abel | Yaani King | Storm Reid |
| David | Nolan North | Scott Shepherd |
| Maria | Ashley Scott | Rutina Wesley |
| Abby Anderson | Laura Bailey | Kaitlyn Dever |
| Dina | Shannon Woodward | Isabela Merced |
| Jesse | Stephen Chang | Young Mazino |
| Owen Moore | Patrick Fugit | Spencer Lord |
| Isaac Dixon | Jeffrey Wright | Jeffrey Wright |
Game actors perform the voice and the motion capture, which is why Ashley Johnson and Troy Baker are so closely identified with their roles. Our voice actors page has more on performers who move between games, animation and live action.
How the HBO series differs from the games
The games
- The infection also spreads through airborne spores, so characters wear gas masks.
- Bill is alone; Frank is already dead.
- Henry and Sam are met in Pittsburgh; Sam is a hearing teenager.
- Abby's motive is hidden until late in Part II.
- Long stretches of combat between story moments.
The HBO series
- Spores are replaced with a network of tendrils that connect the Infected.
- A full episode tells Bill and Frank's love story.
- Henry and Sam are in Kansas City; Sam is younger and deaf. Kathleen is new.
- Abby's motive is revealed much earlier, in season two's first episode.
- New scenes for Ellie's mother, Joel's past and life in Jackson, plus new characters such as Gail.
The broad story is the same, and many scenes are recreated nearly shot for shot. HBO's second season covers roughly the first half of Part II from Ellie's point of view, and a third season has been confirmed.
Major deaths and endings (spoilers)
- Sarah is shot by a soldier on the first night of the outbreak.
- Tess is infected and stays behind to hold off enemies so Joel and Ellie can escape.
- Henry and Sam both die after Sam is bitten and turns.
- David is killed by Ellie in a burning restaurant.
- The first ending: the Fireflies plan to operate on Ellie to make a vaccine, which would kill her. Joel kills the surgeon and many Fireflies, shoots Marlene, and lies to Ellie about what happened.
- Joel is killed by Abby early in Part II (episode two of HBO's second season). The surgeon he killed was Abby's father.
- Part II's ending: after Seattle and a last confrontation in Santa Barbara, Ellie lets Abby go. She returns to an empty farmhouse, unable to play the guitar Joel gave her, having lost two fingers in the fight.
What the characters are really about
The first game is about love as something protective and also dangerous: Joel saves Ellie and damns a possible cure in the same act. Part II is about what that choice costs. It splits the story between Ellie and Abby so you understand both of them, and then asks whether either can stop.
Joel is one of the clearest examples in our anti-hero guide, and Ellie and Abby are two of the most discussed leads in our female protagonists guide. Joel's death, and the anger it caused among players, is a standing example in character deaths. If you like small groups of survivors facing monsters, Stranger Things comes at it from a much warmer angle, and our horror characters guide covers the wider genre.
Where to start
- The Last of Us Part I — the 2022 PS5 remake (also on PC) of the original game. If you play, start here.
- Left Behind — the Ellie and Riley prequel chapter, included with Part I.
- The Last of Us Part II — the sequel, best played after you've finished the first game. A remastered version was released in 2024.
- The HBO series — a good way in if you don't play games. Season one covers the first game; season two begins Part II.
Watching or playing in either order works. If you're unsure how to approach a story told across games and TV, our sequels and spin-offs guide has some general advice.
All The Last of Us character names A–Z
A–D
- Abby Anderson — WLF
- Anna — Ellie's mother
- Bill — Lincoln
- David — Winter community
- Dina — Jackson
E–H
- Ellie Williams — Lead
- Eugene — Jackson
- Frank — Lincoln
- Gail — Jackson (HBO)
- Henry — Survivor
I–L
- Isaac Dixon — WLF
- James — David's group
- Jesse — Jackson
- Joel Miller — Lead
- Kathleen — Kansas City (HBO)
- Lev — Seraphites
M–O
- Manny — WLF
- Maria — Jackson
- Marlene — Fireflies
- Mel — WLF
- Nora — WLF
- Owen Moore — WLF
R–S
- Riley Abel — Fireflies
- Sam — Henry's brother
- Sarah Miller — Joel's daughter
T–Y
- Tess — Boston
- Tommy Miller — Jackson
- Yara — Seraphites
Frequently asked questions
Who are the main characters in The Last of Us?
Joel Miller, a hardened smuggler, and Ellie Williams, a fourteen-year-old girl who is immune to the infection. Part II adds Abby Anderson as a second lead, alongside Ellie's girlfriend Dina and Joel's brother Tommy.
Who plays Joel and Ellie in the HBO series?
Pedro Pascal plays Joel and Bella Ramsey plays Ellie. In the games, Joel is voiced and performance-captured by Troy Baker and Ellie by Ashley Johnson. Both game actors appear in the show in other roles.
Who is Abby in The Last of Us?
Abby Anderson is a soldier with the Washington Liberation Front in Seattle and the second playable lead of The Last of Us Part II. Her reasons for hunting Joel are tied to the ending of the first game. Laura Bailey plays her in the game and Kaitlyn Dever in the HBO series.
Why is Ellie immune?
Neither the games nor the show give a full scientific answer. The HBO series adds a scene suggesting that her mother was bitten just as Ellie was born, which may explain it. Her immunity is why the Fireflies believe she could be the key to a cure.
Is Sam deaf in The Last of Us game?
No. In the game, Sam is a hearing boy of about thirteen. The HBO series made him younger and deaf, with Henry and Ellie communicating with him by sign and writing, and moved their story from Pittsburgh to Kansas City.
Will there be a third season of the HBO show?
HBO has confirmed a third season, expected to continue adapting Part II with a focus on Abby's side of the story. Check HBO's announcements for release timing.