Halley Gross attends The Last of Us season 2 premiere

Variety

The Last of Us season 2 premiere

Transcript

00:00This has been a journey to say the least going from game to here and even just making the second

00:06game was quite a journey. What's it like to be here now? It's unbelievable you know I spent four

00:11and a half years working on this game and you I was invested in the game because I love games

00:16and now to see this property that I so believe in reach such a wide audience like my mom is

00:22watching the show for the you know my mom is getting to see this story she's not a gamer

00:26it's like it's this beautiful I don't know broadening of our horizons. What was it like

00:33when you stepped on set for season two because obviously you guys already had had the success

00:37of season one you like knew but was there was like the writer's strike and stuff was in between

00:41right? Sure sure listen let me tell you walking on set was crazy so I get on set the first day

00:47and they're like let me show you Joel's house and it is I kid you not like one for one to what the

00:53game was I because I you know I worked on the level so much I knew the layout backwards and

00:59forwards and so I walk in and I turn and there's Joel's living room and there's Joel's dining room

01:03and you go upstairs and there's the closet where Ellie like found his coat there are all these like

01:08IGCs that we knew so it it felt surreal because suddenly it was like rendered in 3D it rendered

01:14in reality. I mean what is that like that that feeling of I mean I don't know do you describe

01:20it as accomplishment like is it overwhelming like how do you describe the feeling of seeing

01:24that thing that you've put all your blood sweat and tears into and now you can like touch it?

01:30It feels honestly like we're in a simulation and I'm like losing my mind it's so wild but it

01:35I feel just honestly if I'm being super truthful I just feel super grateful that that the IP speaks

01:41so much to people and that there are so many people who were willing to like elevate it to

01:47even a broader audience. Yeah well lightning already struck once with season one and particularly

01:52with the chemistry with Pedro and and Bella but now we're adding in so many new cast members

01:58including of course Caitlin Deaver as Abby you know what is it like to actually fully bring her

02:04into the fold now after she's kind of been part of the lore of this for a while? It's really exciting

02:09it's you know we're all sort of curious to see how people are going to react to Abby but Caitlin

02:13Deaver is a profoundly magnetic actress and she brings so much to Abby it's I'm really excited I

02:21think she's an incredible complex depiction of of I don't know I want to say like female rage but

02:28it's also just female like passion she is this dimensional female character that I think is

02:35going to broaden our idea of what women can do in TV. I mean that is something that I think is so

02:39remarkable about the the um I don't know it's almost like a a war between Ellie and and and

02:50Abby that it is between two women that is not something that we usually see so what is that

02:56like to kind of give folks that representation and and the idea that it is these two very passionate

03:01um you know female characters battling it out in in future installments? Sure sure I mean I think

03:08ideally as soon as people understand who these characters are and what they care about you stop

03:14seeing them for their identity and you start seeing them as characters who have experienced

03:20deep loss and pain and are going through a really similar journey of reconciling with what they've

03:25lost and what and the pain that they feel and and navigating an incredibly hostile world so hopefully

03:32you see yourself in them. I mean I feel like you hear that a lot from audiences when you see people

03:38out here you know lining Hollywood Boulevard I'm sure you hear a lot from people that they see

03:43themselves in these characters what is that like? It's awesome like I I got into writing to help

03:50people feel seen I think that that's one of the reasons we make TV we make TV so that people feel

03:55not so alone in the world and so anytime that we can make stories that help people feel like

04:01like they matter they exist their problems are problems that we're all reconciling with their

04:07pains or something we're all reconciling with I think it connects us. Okay I'll ask you this to

04:12tease because I know you can't really tell me. I feel like I said something already.

04:16I think I think I think as I think I've heard you say before the game has been out for five years

04:22um so there's a few things people know but a few things that will be different if there's any

04:26episode in particular as a writer sure that you are particularly excited for people to see

04:33read hear you know essentially um what would that one be? Oh man well I'm biased because uh I wrote

04:39on episode six and seven so I I think there's something incredibly special for six uh I think

04:47six is a really beautiful story and I'm really proud to have gotten to be a part of it. And Neil

04:52directs six too right? Six as well yeah yeah. Okay I mean when we have when we have the leadership

04:57really taking the mothership I feel pretty good about that. I hope you like it.

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