Troy Baker has always been a true believer. Most people know him for his work as a prolific voice actor and his career-defining role as Joel on the PlayStation games The last of us And The Last of Us Part 2. But the fans of the games can also count him among their most prominent members – from day one there were only a few bigger ones last of us Stans as him.
Baker, like many who love the story that began with the 2013 Naughty Dog video game, believes so The last of us is “one of the greatest stories ever told,” both for the plight of its human characters and for the way it brought a uniquely immersive and cinematic texture to big-budget video games, effectively changing them forever.
If The last of us After making the jump to HBO, Baker was excited to make the transition to being a 100 percent fan and watched from “the bleachers,” as he put it. But then he got a reputation for being part of Joel and Ellie’s story again – this time as James, the right-hand man of a preacher with dark secrets.
In a Zoom interview from Los Angeles, Baker spoke to Polygon about handing over the reins, his conflicted new character, and making your only death scene count.
Polygon: So how did you describe it before the show? The last of us to the people?
Troy Baker: The same way I would do it after the show came out. I think that The last of us is one of the greatest stories ever told. And that’s because it’s not about infected people. It’s not post-apocalypse, it’s not survival horror, it’s a story about love and what love is like in this world and how scary that is. For me it was one of the greatest games of all time because everything about the game was inspired by the story.
How was the experience watching the Role to be recast and translated by Joel to a new medium? is it strange for you
I wouldn’t necessarily call it a rewrite; I think they cast the game and now you cast the show. So it’s not like that – nothing was lost for me. The only thing that would have been a loss would have been Pedro [Pascal] stepped into that role – or anyone really – and decided to emulate something that had already been done.
It’s like, well, this is a missed opportunity. We have all these new tools at our disposal to tell the story; Let’s take advantage of these tools. We don’t have a controller, we don’t have a gameplay. So let’s lean on the tools we have and let’s tell a different version of the story that way. And Pedro brings a different inherent sensibility.
Yes, it’s like one of the greatest compliments you can give an actor is “I love your choices.”
I love the selection man. There’s usually one or two in every episode that Pedro does, and it’s like, Oooh, that’s good. You honestly know, Neil [Druckmann] had the same thing with Craig [Mazin]. The decision to deafen Sam – Craig said: “I had this idea. I think I want to make Sam deaf.” And Neil said, “What a great choice!”
That wouldn’t have worked so well in game. But here in this version of our story, it adds a whole other layer to that relationship, it brings a certain intimacy to all of their interactions, and it beautifully changes the dynamic of Henry and Sam’s relationship.
How did you come to the show? Did you know they were trying to make room for the game’s voice acting?
Oh, it was never a given, it was never an assumption. it was always Look, our watch is over. And it was a wonderful opportunity for us to experience this story in a different way. I stand in the stands, not on the field.
When Craig and Neil said, “Hey, we’ve got a role for you,” I was expecting something of a walk-on. A little cameo appearance, a little wink for the audience. How [with a] Clicker, you know, maybe he’s wearing a flannel shirt or something that Joel would probably have worn.
James is a much bigger role than that!
James reflects so much what this series is about, which is let’s build on it, let’s not replace it, and this character is one of those characters that you kind of glossed over in the game. But on this show we have the opportunity to go Who is he? Where does he fit in this story? Everyone we’ve seen on the show so far somehow serves as a counterpoint to either Joel or Ellie. And for me there is an element of James that does both.
There is a difference between him and Joel; there is a resemblance between him and Joel. And there’s a big difference between him and Ellie. And that’s what David sees in James, which is that he’s a pragmatist and someone who’s capable [and] has this position but is not violent. And Ellie is [violent], and David is a violent person. He has, as he says, a “violent heart”.
And he lacks that in a peer and equal. And that’s something James can never be for him, and James is embracing that. And that’s why he wants Ellie to be as far away from him as possible.
You said James is not a violent man – do you think he doesn’t believe like David or pretend to be?
Not at all, and I don’t think David is either. That’s my interpretation – that’s what I love about being on the other side, the conversation. We have systematically seen people throughout history trying to oppress and control. One of the simplest tools at their disposal is, on the face of it, belief or belief. But in truth it is hope, they arm hope against the desperate.
And these are these people. They are not bad people. They are desperate people. These are people who have had a really, really, really tough winter. And as James says, “They haven’t lost faith. They’re just scared.” And if you combine fear and desperation, in the face of desperation – if you deprive them of all their resources – these people have no sustenance, let alone anything else tangible. So when all tangible resources of comfort are exhausted, one reaches for the intangible, and hope is the most important commodity.
David weaponized that. So when James looks at him and says, “Well, maybe it’s God’s will” — that’s an intellectual debate that we see. And he uses that against David to go Get this girl away from here. It’s an intellectual debate to say that, as well as, “She’s just another mouth to feed.” So now he’s even hacking around [David’s] ability to lead. And that’s why David quits. And what does he do? He turns to everyone else and quotes a verse – not even a verse actually, but we find out it is [a quote from] someone else known for oppressing people of faith.
When you found out you were going to play James, did you have any hopes for the role? Maybe a cool death scene?
Honestly, when I first found out I was going to play James, I was like, ‘Dude, thank you very much. It’s very, very kind – who is James?’
Because he wasn’t a big character. But then I realized I was like, Oh yes, he will die horribly. I love death scenes. They are amazing. One of the perks of a game is that you, as the player character, can do multiple death scenes.
But you only get to die once on the show! how does it count
Age: Sold out every time because you never know which one your closeup will be. [laughs] Full sale, every shot!