HBO’s ‘The Last of Us’ adds Nick Offerman to cast as survivalist Bill
The Last of Us series on HBO has tapped Nick Offerman, best known for his role in the NBC sitcom Parks and Recreation, to the cast.
The role of hardened survivalist Bill was recently recast, with Offerman taking over the guest starring role from Chernobyl’s Con O’Neill, who reportedly bowed out of the show due to a scheduling conflict.
The series adaptation of the hit PlayStation video game is written and executive produced by Chernobyl creator Craig Mazin along with Neil Druckmann, who both confirmed the news via social media on Wednesday, Dec. 8.
We were so sad when @cononeilluk couldn’t join us because of his schedule. Only the healing light of God-Man @Nick_Offerman as Bill could soothe our soul. Con, we will dance again soon!https://t.co/FFBDzyFGEL
— Craig Mazin (@clmazin) December 7, 2021
"Cannot wait for y'all to see this performance!," writer and creative director for the video game Druckmann tweeted, sharing the official announcement of Naughty Dog.
Cannot wait for y’all to see this performance! ♥️ https://t.co/gzPl7pdQbX
— Neil Druckmann (@Neil_Druckmann) December 7, 2021
Offerman will appear as Bill alongside Murray Bartlett of the HBO satire comedy series The White Lotus, as two post-pandemic survivalists living alone in their own isolated town.
Based on Naughty Dog’s award-winning PlayStation video game of the same name, the HBO series takes place 20 years after modern civilization has been destroyed by a deadly fungus.
Joel (Pedro Pascal), a hardened survivor, is hired to smuggle Ellie (Bella Ramsey) out of an oppressive quarantine zone. What starts as a small job soon becomes a brutal, heartbreaking journey, as they both must traverse across the U.S. and depend on each other for survival.
Offerman will star in a recurring role as Bill, a hardened survivalist who aids Joel and Ellie on their way to to meet the Fireflies. In the original video game, Bill crafts weapons and traps to keep the runners, stalkers and the rest of the undead at bay.
In an interview with The Guardian, Bartlett revealed many of his scenes take place with the Parks & Rec actor.
“It’s co-created by Craig Mazin, who did Chernobyl,” Bartlett shared. “The scripts he’s written blew my head off. It’s an epic show, but beautifully human and intimate. We filmed it in Calgary. A lot of my scenes are with Nick Offerman. Playing off him was awesome.”
The cast of the show also includes Gabriel Luna as Joel’s brother Tommy, Nico Parker as Joel’s daughter Sarah, and Merle Dandridge reprises her video game voice role of Marlene, the leader of the Fireflies resistance group struggling for power against the government’s military regime.
Carolyn Strauss, Rose Lam, Naughty Dog president Evan Wells and PlayStation Productions’ Asad Qizilbash and Carter Swan will also executive produce. Kantemir Balagov will direct the pilot, with Jasmila Žbanić and Ali Abbasi also attached to direct.
The project is a co-production with Sony Pictures Television. PlayStation Productions, Word Games, and Naughty Dog. No release date has been set for the series at this time.