The Last of Us: Original voice actor says he’s caught ‘off guard’ by Pedro Pascal’s version of Joel

Troy Baker originated Joel in the popular video game

Troy Baker has shared his thoughts on Pedro Pascal’s take on Joel in The Last of Us.

Baker first originated the voice of lead character Joel in the 2013 video game on which HBO’s hit post-apocalyptic drama is based.

Speaking with Vulture in a new interview, Baker said that in “every episode”, Pascal’s version of Joel “catches me off guard in the best possible way”.

“There’s some moment where I go, I didn’t think about that. I didn’t see that,” he added. “That’s all I really wanted: For Pedro, or whoever is going to play this character, to just teach me something new that I didn’t realise about the character.

Baker praised Pascal for bringing “this vulnerability that I don’t think we could’ve done in the game because of the nature of it”.

“In the game, you’re healing yourself from bullet wounds, so it’s really hard to be like, Oh, ow, my broken hand. In the show, we have the opportunity to exploit some of those vulnerabilities,” he explained.

“Pedro does that in amazing ways.”

Troy Baker in ‘The Last of Us' (HBO)

Minor spoilers follow for The Last of Us episode eight...

Following the penultimate episode, numerous fans familiar with the video game, were excited to see Baker make a surprise guest cameo.

In the eighth episode, Ellie encounters a group of cannibals, including nefarious religious leader David (Scott Shepherd) and his right-hand man James (Baker).

After the episode, Baker shared a message with his fans on Twitter, writing: “Tonight was unreal.

“Hearing the response to this episode does this old boy’s heart good. I’m beyond grateful. Amazing performances by all.”

The Last of Us season finale premieres on 12 March on HBO Max in the US and 13 March on Sky Atlantic in the UK.