If anyone’s played the first game, we know that at the end of that whole journey that Ellie and Joel went on, she was trying to find meaning and purpose with her immunity. There was a lot of research that Neil and I did of things we had talked about - for me, as someone who deals with anxiety, but also playing a character that has PTSD, and researching that.Īt the beginning of this game, Ellie’s already grappling with a lot. And the rest of it - when you can put yourself in that space, you trust the dialogue, setting and director, and then it’s just kind of playtime from there. How do you go there emotionally to portray the character with both rage and empathy?Īll we can do as actors is try to find a kernel of truth in there somewhere that we have experienced that we can relate to. After Neil sat me down and told me the story of the second game, I was nervous but also very excited to go on this journey and tell this story, because I think it’s a very important story to tell.Įllie is a brutal badass intent on vengeance. Obviously, we’re seeing Ellie in a much darker place. I was so excited to jump into the second game knowing that we were going to explore more of Ellie and see other sides of her - her growth and her flaws. I love this character so much, and I’ve been able to play her for 10 years now. What was it like to return to the character of Ellie after several years and how has your perspective on her evolved over time? Johnson got on the phone with THR ahead of the game’s release to talk about her chemistry with voice actor Shannon Woodward (Dina), how she connected during emotional scenes, and the “freedom” of video game acting. Ultimately, she was excited to breathe life into the character again. “We’re seeing Ellie in a much darker place,” Johnson explains, adding that she had some initial nerves about revisiting the role.

Now 19, she has experienced loss, wrestled with confusing romantic feelings, bit her tongue when a bout of jealousy hit, and unleashed everything in her power - both her arsenal of weapons and the “power” of her ferocious determination - to save those she cares for deeply. Not only is the world itself emptier and more desolate than before - with more roaming enemies, traps and concerning letters penned by characters long dead - but Ellie’s journey is even more personal and urgent.

In Part II, everything is much, much worse. She was accompanied on her journey by Joel (Troy Baker), a smuggler who lost his own daughter years earlier. In the original game, Ellie was a child navigating a dangerous wasteland of humans infected with a parasitic fungus that transformed them into bloodthirsty zombies. Johnson is returning to the role after seven years with Neil Druckman-directed sequel The Last of Us Part II, which Sony released June 19.

Last of us two ellie character model