The Last of Us Characters

You keep finding something to fight for. Explore every character from The Last of Us — from Joel's devastating journey to protect Ellie, to Abby's brutal quest for justice, and every survivor navigating a cordyceps-ravaged world in Naughty Dog's acclaimed series and the HBO adaptation.

Last reviewed on 2026-05-02

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Joel Miller

Smuggler / Surrogate Father

The gruff, guitar-playing survivor whose world ended the night the outbreak took his daughter Sarah — and who spends twenty years surviving by becoming someone he despises. Joel's cross-country journey with Ellie, his terrible final choice at the Salt Lake Firefly hospital, and his complicated love for a girl he cannot save without destroying everything else make him one of the greatest protagonists in game history.

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Ellie Williams

The Immune

The foul-mouthed, joke-book-loving teenager who is humanity's only known immune — and whose cordyceps infection-turned-immunity may hold the key to a cure. Ellie's arc across both games is one of storytelling's most complete: from the resilient girl learning to trust Joel, to the haunted woman whose need for vengeance and connection ultimately defines what she becomes. Ashley Johnson's performance is considered a benchmark in video game acting.

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Abby Anderson

WLF Soldier

The physically imposing WLF soldier who kills Joel in the opening of Part II — and whose perspective, revealed across the game's second half, recontextualizes everything. Abby's story — a daughter who lost her father to Joel's choice, who is herself capable of both tremendous cruelty and tremendous love — is The Last of Us Part II's central thesis on cycles of violence. Her arc remains one of gaming's most divisive and most profound narrative choices.

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Tess

Joel's Partner

Joel's capable, pragmatic smuggling partner in the Boston quarantine zone — and the person who sets the entire story in motion by securing the deal to escort Ellie to the Fireflies. Tess's sacrifice in the State House, surrounded by infected with only a lighter and a trail of gasoline, is one of the most powerful opening-act deaths in game history. Her HBO counterpart (Anna Torv) brought even greater gravity to the character.

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Tommy Miller

Joel's Brother / Jackson Leader

Joel's younger brother — a former Firefly who built a thriving community in Jackson, Wyoming. Tommy's moral optimism, his conflict with Joel over Ellie's fate, and his devastating role in Part II's Abby hunt give him the series' most complete arc outside the main protagonists. His and Maria's community in Jackson represents TLOU's most hopeful vision of human resilience.

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Dina

Ellie's Partner

Ellie's bright, quick-witted girlfriend whose warmth and genuine joy contrast with Ellie's grief-driven intensity. Dina's choice to accompany Ellie to Seattle, her pregnancy, and her ultimate sacrifice of the life they built together when Ellie can't let go of vengeance make her Part II's moral center. Her relationship with Ellie is one of the most naturally written romances in game history.

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Riley Abel

Ellie's First Love

Ellie's best friend from the QZ — the girl whose Firefly recruitment, their last night in an abandoned mall, and their simultaneous infection define Ellie's entire emotional foundation. Riley's brief story (Left Behind DLC / HBO Episode 7) contains TLOU's most emotionally concentrated storytelling: two girls choosing to enjoy one stolen evening rather than face the horror of what's coming. "We can be all poetic and shit about it later."

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David

Cannibal Preacher

The soft-spoken, Bible-quoting leader of a survivor group in winter Colorado — and the game's most genuinely frightening human antagonist. David's manipulation of Ellie (posing as a protector while hunting Joel), his revelation as a cannibal and predator, and Ellie's final, desperate act to survive him constitute TLOU's most harrowing sequence. His HBO portrayal (Scott Shepherd) amplified his threat even further.

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Marlene

Firefly Leader

The Firefly commander who made a deal with Tess, entrusted Ellie to Joel, and then made the choice to sacrifice Ellie for the vaccine — not knowing what Joel would do. Marlene's position is TLOU's central moral dilemma made human: she knew Ellie's mother, loves Ellie, and still chooses the possibility of saving millions over one girl's life. Joel's brutal response is the game's most contested moment.

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Henry & Sam

Brothers

The older-younger brother pair Ellie and Joel encounter in Pittsburgh — Henry, who betrayed a community leader to protect his infected little brother Sam, and Sam, the deaf boy who bonded with Ellie over comics before hiding his infection. Their fate — one of the game's most gut-punching moments — and their HBO episode (the dam/Kansas City arc) show TLOU at its most devastating in exploring what love demands of us.

About The Last of Us

The Last of Us was developed by Naughty Dog and released on PlayStation 3 in 2013. Directed by Neil Druckmann and Bruce Straley, it is widely considered one of the greatest video games ever made, winning numerous Game of the Year awards. The Last of Us Part II (2020) expanded the universe dramatically.

The HBO adaptation (2023–) starring Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey became one of the network's most-watched series, praised for faithfully capturing the game's emotional depth while expanding its world-building. The series is credited with helping establish video game adaptations as viable prestige television.