Anna Torv Was Anxious About Copying ‘The Last of Us’ Video Game Too Much
HBO drama The Last of Us adapts the critically-acclaimed 2013 video game of the same name, and some viewers are already comparing this TV version to hours of beloved, harrowing, dramatic scenes.
Those familiar with the original video game will see many meticulously reconstructed scenes lifted directly from that PlayStation classic. But one major departure is in the portrayals of the characters themselves. They look different, sure, but according to actor Anna Torv, the creative differences go much deeper than that.
The first episode of ‘The Last of Us’ quickly introduces a fan-favorite character from the game
Critics and audiences alike are showering praise on The Last of Us, according to Rotten Tomatoes. Torv plays Tess Servopoulos, a hard-edged smuggler works alongside protagonist Joel Miller. To fans of the game, she is instantly recognizable, and her introductory scene in the premiere episode is almost shot-for-shot lifted from the video game. The character even has identical lines from the video game, which may have led some viewers to wonder if the character would be the exact same in the TV show.
Anna Torv developed her own take on Tess
Torv didn’t take the decision to shift away from a direct impression of the video game take on Tess as a frivolous or selfish choice. In an interview on IGN’s YouTube channel, she shed some light on how Mazin and The Last of Us creator Neil Druckmann wanted their actors to work.
“I guess one of the first things I asked Craig [Mazin], who was our creator, was how true to the characters of the game do you need us to be?,” the Mindhunter actor said. “Or is it our interpretation? What are you looking for?”
She points out that having her own creative freedom was important, because her casting is inherently a bit different from Tess in the game. Both she and Joel are “a bit older” in the game, so Torv thought it was best to consider that while inhabiting the character. Even if the costumes and script are instantly familiar to people who played the original game, these creative differences are crucial. They help elevate the show as a distinct interpretation.
‘The Last of Us’ cast is stacked with accomplished actors from TV and film
The Last of Us instantly establishes that these characters aren’t quite the same as their video game forebears in the most definitive way. The leads — including from the pre-apocalypse section of the first episode — look and sound little like the original characters. This was all by design, as a way to set the show apart and give video game fans something new to enjoy about a long-established story.
The creators want to leverage the differences between the two mediums to gain new insights into their characters. “There are certain things that we embrace about our medium that are different than the game medium,” Mazin told Polygon.
That means his Joel and Ellie are more vulnerable and frail than their video game counterparts. When they get hurt, the wounds stay with them, and affect them for a long time.
“We were less looking for someone who could play a tough guy — because in some ways, that’s the easier part — and more someone that could show there’s a tortured soul inside of it,” Druckmann said about Pascal, who was given the same freedom as Torv to find new sides to his character.
