Warning: spoilers ahead for The Last of Us episode 8.
The appearance of Troy Baker in Episode 8 of The Last of Us signalled a moment in the TV show that fans had been anticipating.
As anyone who is already familiar with the genre would know, Troy played Joel in the initial video game a decade ago.
In the most recent episode of the HBO series, he appears as James, a friend of David (Scott Shepherd), a pastor who is keeping a horrible secret from his town.
Some fans may have been perplexed as to why Troy was not cast as Joel in the TV adaption, with the part instead going to Pedro Pascal, who starred alongside Bella Ramsey as Ellie.
Troy said in a new interview that he never intended to resume the role, claiming that his “watch” had finished.
‘I think this is important to speak to: There was never a moment where I wanted to play Joel,’ he told TVLine.
‘Just because it’s kind of like, my watch has ended. Selfishly, I wanted for them to pick somebody who would care about it as much as I did.’
Troy explained that he wanted the people who developed the TV programme to choose someone to portray Joel who would’teach me something fresh’ about the character, something that he had overlooked.
‘Pedro does that every episode in some way, like whether it be in just a small choice that he makes as like, “Oh, man, that’s really good,” or in a delivery of a famous line or a familiar line that he does in a different way,’ he stated.
‘But for me, I was excited about being on the sidelines and in the stands as opposed to on the field.’
While Troy’s new character, James, does feature in the video game, he is “nowhere near as obvious” as he is in the TV series, according to the actor… who first questioned James’ identity when he was granted the part.
‘So, for me to be able to have a role like this, it became this cool challenge. I’m like, “All right, how do we make this the story of James from my perspective, because I think we’re all the heroes of our own story,” and so, the first task was: “How do I not make him a villain?” And that’s just what I sought to do in every scene,’ he shared.
Ellie gets abducted by David and his buddies in the latest episode of The Last of Us, only to discover that their society has turned to cannibalism in order to live.
Ellie escapes by the skin of her teeth, cutting James in the neck with a sword and then killing David before her heartbreaking reunion with Joel.
The Last of Us is available to watch on Sky and NOW with new episodes released on Mondays.
Source My Celebrity Life.