The Last of Us truly wouldn’t be the iconic franchise it is without the incredible actors behind its characters, and fans have been coming together online to highlight the outstanding work of Ashley Johnson.
To any gamer, I’m sure Johnson needs very little introduction, but for those unfamiliar, she’s the voice and motion capture actress for everyone’s favourite immune badass, Ellie Williams, in The Last of Us games. While the very talented Bella Ramsey took on the role of Ellie in the TV adaptation, Johnson still had a notable role as Ellie’s mother, Anna, who's seen in a flashback at the start of episode nine, ‘Look for the Light’. Her performance in this sequence was so well received that many fans have been clamouring for a full prequel series starring her.
Take a look at this comparison of Ellie in the game and TV show below.
Needless to say, Johnson is well and truly the heart of The Last of Us, and fans on Reddit want to make that fact known. User anthonystrader18 began a very wholesome thread on r/thelastofus with an “Ashley Johnson appreciation post”, and wrote: “Ashley Johnson is the best and she deserves the world.”
Loads of fans have been joining in: “The Last of Us lives and dies with Ashley Johnson. Troy [Baker] is great, Laura [Bailey] is great, everyone has been great - but Ashley is the soul of this franchise,” folkdeath95 wrote. “F**k yeah Ashley J! Absolutely the best,” agreed Ellies_Bite. “The mother of Ellie both literally and figuratively,” added Hour_Ad7053.
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Ellie obviously means a great deal to Johnson, and following the finale of The Last of Us season one, she revealed in an interview that she believes Ramsey had “elevated” the character even further.
“I don't feel like anybody else could have done this part. I finally watched the last episode and she's so f***ing good. She absolutely blows me away,” Johnson said. “It’s gonna sound so weird – I feel so proud of her. I feel a connection to her, I think because we both love this character. And I think there's so much of her that already is Ellie… I feel a massive connection to Bella and I am so blown away by what she's done. What an incredible actor.”
Featured Image Credit: HBO, Sony Interactive EntertainmentTopics: The Last Of Us, Naughty Dog