HBO’s The Last of Us is once again bringing performers from the original video games into its live-action adaptation. Laura Bailey and Ian Alexander, who originated the roles of Abby and Lev in The Last of Us Part II, have joined the cast of Season 3 alongside John Goodman. This time, however, both actors will be playing entirely different characters.
Bailey has been cast as Elizabeth, one of the leaders of the Seraphites, while Alexander will play a new character named Paco. Goodman joins Alexander as Joey, with Paco and Joey described as a friendly pair who call themselves the “Heroes of the Highway.” The additions continue a casting tradition that has allowed several performers from Naughty Dog’s games to return to The Last of Us in new roles while other actors take over their original characters for television.
Laura Bailey Returns in a Larger Live-Action Role
Bailey delivered the voice and performance capture for Abby Anderson in 2020’s The Last of Us Part II. Abby became one of the game’s central playable characters, with her story eventually becoming closely connected to Lev, a young former member of the Seraphites. In HBO’s adaptation, Abby is instead portrayed by Kaitlyn Dever, who was introduced during Season 2.
Season 3 will not actually mark Bailey’s first appearance in the television series. She made a small cameo during the Season 1 finale as one of the nurses present in the Firefly hospital where Joel rescues Ellie. Her new role as Elizabeth should give the veteran voice actor considerably more to do. Elizabeth is connected to the Seraphites, the religious community that plays an increasingly important role as the story moves deeper into the events adapted from Part II. The character was referenced in the game but did not appear directly, giving the television series considerable freedom in developing her.
Bailey’s career extends far beyond Abby. She has accumulated hundreds of credits across video games and animation and is also a founding cast member of Critical Role. Her game roles include characters such as Kait Diaz in Gears 5, Mary Jane Watson in Insomniac’s Spider-Man games and Fiona in Tales from the Borderlands. Her performance as Abby earned widespread recognition, including Best Performance at The Game Awards in 2020.
Ian Alexander Returns Without Reprising Lev
Alexander’s return creates an interesting connection with Bailey’s casting. Alexander provided the performance for Lev in The Last of Us Part II, becoming a central part of Abby’s storyline as the two characters formed an unlikely partnership while caught between the Washington Liberation Front and the Seraphites.
For the HBO adaptation, Lev is played by Kyriana Kratter. Alexander will instead appear as Paco, a character who does not have a direct counterpart in the original game. Paco travels with Goodman’s Joey, and the pair describe themselves as the “Heroes of the Highway.”
That means the original performers behind Abby and Lev are both returning during a season expected to explore more of the story surrounding their former characters, but from completely different positions within the television adaptation. Bailey will have an especially direct connection to that world through Elizabeth and the Seraphites, while Alexander’s Paco provides the series with another opportunity to expand beyond characters and events depicted directly in the game.
Goodman, meanwhile, adds another familiar name to the Season 3 cast following the conclusion of his run as Eli Gemstone on HBO’s The Righteous Gemstones. His pairing with Alexander also introduces two characters whose stories are currently largely unknown, leaving Paco and Joey among the more intriguing additions created for the adaptation.
The Last of Us Continues Bringing Its Game Actors to Television
Bailey and Alexander join a growing list of performers from Naughty Dog’s games who have appeared in HBO’s adaptation. Troy Baker, the original Joel, played James in Season 1, while original Ellie performer Ashley Johnson appeared as Ellie’s mother, Anna. Merle Dandridge was able to reprise her role as Firefly leader Marlene, and Jeffrey Wright returned as Isaac Dixon after originally voicing the character in The Last of Us Part II.
The approach has allowed the television series to acknowledge the performers who helped establish these characters without requiring every actor to recreate the same role in live action. Bailey’s return is particularly notable because she has now participated in the franchise as its original Abby, a small Season 1 character and a newly expanded Seraphite figure.
Season 3 is expected to shift much of the story toward Abby’s perspective following the events of the second season, giving Dever a larger role while further exploring the conflict involving the WLF and Seraphites. With Bailey and Alexander now joining that part of the story in new roles, two of the performers most closely associated with Part II will once again be part of The Last of Us when the series returns in 2027.