The Last Of Us: Troy Baker on Auditioning for Joel & Meeting Pedro Pascal
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- Опубликовано: 6 сен 2024
- 'The Last Of Us' started with actors Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson taking on the roles of Joel and Ellie when the video game launched in 2013. Now a decade later, Troy Baker joins The Last of Pods, an ET and Comicbook crossover podcast, revealing he nearly walked out of his initial audition for the role that would change his career. Baker also shares his initial pick on who should play live-action Joel, what it was like meeting Pedro Pascal for the first time and more! 'The Last Of Us' airs Sundays on HBO and streams on HBO Max.
I've listened to Troy talk about TLOU for 10 years and still is so interesting and mesmerizing. He really is the GOAT of video game actors.
agree i was about to comment the same i can listen to him and the cast talk about the last of us for hours. specially troy
He's my favorite voice actor for sure. Next to Yuri Lowenthall
Its a shame they destroyed his and Ashleys characters in the sequel
@@Hero_Of_Old The real Gandalf wouldn't have posted this L
Yep him and Nolan North stand above the rest for me
The best interview in years. Allowing him to talk and reminisce without interrupting. Classic.
They definitely cut some bit of dialogue. Cause there was an odd cut 3/4 of the interview. He probably went on about something too long that seemed off tangent
Agreed, this interview is great! The only thing I have with Troy is that I get the impression he loves listening to himself talk as much as we do ^^' he's incredibly charming and does super well in individual interviews like this, but I feel whenever there's a group interview alongside Ashley, Neil or even Nolan for Uncharted, he has a tendency to take up space. His passion really shines, but sometimes at the expense of others.
I'm not saying this as a solely negative thing necessarily, just that I vastly prefer listening to him in interviews like this where he's on his own!
@@lx-icon Indeed. This was very evident during the Vox Machina Season 2 watchparty at Critical Role where he was there as a guest for one Episode.
There is always one guest on the couch and it was very noticable that of all guests so far, Troy was the one who talked the most and the longest. His answers were even longer than the ones of the regulars.
He is a charming guy and I don't dislike that he does this, but you have to be in the mood for his antics.
@@Quotenwagnerianer I agree. It bothered me sometimes when he was on Retro Replay. But I think it comes from deep passion and that he's a very communative personality. He's doing great on the Last of Us Podcast though. Really lets Craig and Neil talk without interruptions.
@@soph6094 absolutely, the podcast for the show works really well! He has some things to contribute which is always good from a host, but he’s very intentionally asking questions for the audience’s benefit, and getting them to talk in-depth - while showing restraint, importantly.
Also agree - Retro Replay on paper should be mandatory watching, but… the dynamics absolutely do end up being really off-putting. Nolan feels like he’s playing on his own for entire episodes at a time :(
Also to the comment above, I felt the EXACT same way for that TLoVM watch party episode!!
Got to give credit to the interviewers. They seem to really know the story and they don't cut him off, this is good! Props to them!
yes i didn’t even think abt the interviewers until i saw this comment, but that’s just right. only helping the story along or interjecting when asked
The interviewers host The Last Of Pods, they're definitely fans of the game/show
@@liamk1610 Well that makes sense then 😄
It's so cool they're including Troy and Ashley in all this promo because they easily could have only been talked about and acknowledged by the other actors, but instead they're bringing them in for all the press as well. Hope something similar happens with Ashley Eckstein when Ahsoka comes out!
Well they also have roles in the show as well which is cool
They’re using them for marketing
@@ay5285 and it works
Sunday night was Troys episode I wonder if Ashley will be in the last
🤢
I love this guy. The fact that A Baker from Troy survived and he is still alive after 3500 years is amazing.
You're genius 😂
terrible joke. 10 out of 10.
i live for this humor
shiiidd....
made my day.
Wow! I didn’t know ET did quality, longer interviews where they let the actor talk. Troy is so interesting and really sounds like an actor’s actor.
They actually seemed interested in hearing what the actor had to say vs hearing their own voice.
Look up play watch listen if you like Troy
He is technically an actor voice or not
@@DOOBISOFT voice actor is still an actor
So glad this man is getting facetime. He’s been the voice of countless memorable characters and to be able to take his passion and apply it to himself. Gotta love seeing his journey and where its headed hoping these roles give this guy more screen time.
His voice for Pain from Naruto is my absolute favourite… complete top-tier of voice acting… doesn’t even sound like the same person talking here lol
Yuri Lowell was my intro to him!
@@Liam-mv9zi omg that’s him???🤩
I love how Naughty Dog values Troy because Troy isn't your average voice actor. He is a geek, a fan of comics, art, movies, and video games! He always had more to give than just his acting talents and I love how involved he has been with Druckman through everything from promotion to having opinions on who gets cast as Joel, a role in the show, and being the host of the podcast. I've been a fan of Troy Baker long before The Last of Us and I love how much love he is getting for this fateful game and now the TV show!
I know he is twice my age but there is something so Millennial about him that I relate to. From growing up and admiring Kevin Conroy and Mark Hammil as Batman before IMDB existed to accepting the modern takes on stuff and being a gamer! He's such a gem and a well-spoken person!
Great to see someone so passionate about a role, that they played a decade ago. So many actors try to escape it. This man really loves joel and appreciates Neil!
Yeah he love the role so much he let him killed by a golf club, and he love so much Neil that he agreed to deny the leaks and agreed to be part of a trailer that is fake, yep that our boy Troy Baker
@@samuelesquivel6202 You know you’re allowed to not like Part II without being a prick
@@TukaihaHithlec nowadays to tell the truth is a prick, well I rather be a prick than being a kiss @ss mf
Absolutely! ❤
@@samuelesquivel6202 He loves the role enough to let them tell a beautiful story about regret, remorse, ptsd, and loss. Im sorry that you as a "fan" were unable to see how beautiful the story was that they told.
Troy and Ashley's performances can't be topped. I enjoy the HBO show as a completely separate take on it.
I agree, though I think the show handled the ending of episode 5 better than the game. Ellie's actress' scream of horror was amazing. It's fun to see what the show does better and what the game does better. I far prefer the game version of the confrontation between Joel and Ellie where they talk about Joel's daughter. It was more raw in the game, but the show has handled most scenes from the game as well or better and some of the changes were truly smart ones. Bill's episode was so beautiful :D
I think they have to tone the show down a bit compared to the game. Joel is more sensitive and show vs game Ellie definitely have a different vibe.
Yea it’s still just different than the game
I agree, I think they had the luxury of choosing the exact perfect take of voice lines in the game and then animating around those. Whereas in the series, the best voiced lined might not match up with the best performance from the actor, so they have to find a compromise.
@@billywashere6965 it's just a love story that was executed really well. It's a theme that most of us will have to deal with at some point in our lives. Gay or not.
Dying at imagining pedro going “I have none for you” 💀 I love him sm. this interview has great insights. troy is awesome.
He even voiced Sam from Uncharted and I didn’t even recognize him. What a talent!
Really? The guy who voiced nathan also voiced david in last of us
Troy has done Joker, Batman, Pagan Min, etc. A true chameleon
Also Pain from Naruto, which is such a hugely different voice from how he normally talks… honestly couldn’t believe it was the same person.
Which is funny cause he kinda sounds the most like himself as Sam haha!
@@Liam-mv9zi yea I found that out a few years ago but couldn’t believe this guy was that pain from the naruto dub, his voice is insane in it
As far as casting goes, I can totally see Josh as Joel, but Pedro was definitely the right choice. He's killing it. I completely agree with Troy in that this is the greatest show right now.
Josh would have been perfect as the exact vision of "Game Joel." But Pedro just adds these nuances we didn't know the character needed.
@onehandwashestheotherhuh?
I swear, this man gives the best interviews. He’s also got the golden voice. I could listen to this man tell stories for hours.
Well spoken, intelligent dude…I could listen to him talk all day. They gave him so much room to just talk…great interview and interviewers…
Enjoy listening to Troy. He is so passionate about what he does and great at it!!
I met Troy at a London Comic-Con and he was with Nolan north, I don’t consider myself to be a vocal actor in any sense, but I asked him to do a Alan Rickman impression (as Hans Gruber) he did it shows me how he manipulated his chords so to speak and now… I can do it myself. I’ve worked in places that have frequent celebs and they have been hero’s but turned out to be horrible people. I can honestly say from the brief interaction with Troy and Nolan they are the most genuine people I’ve ever met. Kudos to them both for there love of their art and the love of their fans.
Troy such a class act… so well spoken, handsome, and incredibly knowledgeable. LOVEEEEE that they just let him speak cause he clearly speaks from his heart whenever it comes to TLOU and other subjects he’s passionate about.
"You can't outhate somebody" perfectly sums up the journey of playing TLOU, Troy is really a gem
7:56 “He’s our daddy” is crazy😭😭
I really appreciate how much passion Troy always has for TLOU every time he talks about it, for so many years now. I’m glad that a lot of commenters also seem to think so! He’s such a good storyteller, and I personally appreciate how much respect he has for every other artist who worked on the games/show as well.
Wild how close we were to not getting The Last of Us that we know. Troy and Ashley as Joel and Ellie feels supernaturally perfect.
THANK YOU for letting him talk. This was the most refreshing interview I’ve seen in a long time.
The last minute of this interview is a testament to not letting the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game. What a great note to end on.
Ooo, I love that quote 15:18 "True art inspires other art"; I'm not sure if it's true 100% of the time, but it's a pretty good baseline metric to go by.
Someone, after the season is over, should set up a charity stream where Pedro and Bella do a playthrough of The Last of Us and comment on it. I think that would make a billion dollars it would be so interesting and popular. How often does a situation happen like this, where a fantastic actor plays a wonderful role that was once immortalized in a video game. He gets to play as the character after having played the character. It would be great.
In all probability, neither would be skilled at playing such a game if they don't game regularly. It's not the most approachable title for "I've never played a game before."
@@MikeLikesChannel I get what you're saying but either one of them will improve as they go and I think the game has difficulty settings in the newer re-release. They could also get someone like a popular streamer to sit in with them as a way to stir the pot and not make it just the two actors talking. Since a third party would be able to ask interesting questions that fans want to know that the two leads may not consider interesting.
I'm just saying there are ways around the, "They don't play games and aren't good at it." problem.
@Corey Carnes Not to mention Bella has made mention that she has at the very least began playing the game
Before I knew about Troy Baker I never thought that the voice behind a badass hardened apocalyptic survivor is a hipster guy lol.
He is like the Leo or any big A list Hollywood actor in the voice acting world. He's played so many characters
@@recca7 yeah, he along with Nolan North...but back then I wasn't aware of how he actually looks like 🤭
I’ve been following Pedro Pascal for a long time and his versatility is limitless so I never doubted him as Joel. 👍
The Last Of Us was really a pivotal transition from video games being seen as nerd fodder to high art. I remember the press for this was just having movie directors play the intro.
With that being said, I really can feel the pressure to get these performers right. They were everything and planted a seed we all didn’t see coming.
I love Troy Baker, he's so humble and so so so talented. A part of me wished he could play Joel in the show (I still think about it) but Pedro Pascal is doing great. I do still go back to Troy & Ashley's performance in the game vs the show and their voice acting& expression VIBRATES . Absolutely legendary performances.
“Humble” 😂
@@MsLenepigenis he not actually?
@@noneofyourbusiness4159 Nope. He can be quite charming, but he’s a narcissistic tool that loves the smell of his own farts. Although his success is well deserved, it has very much gone to his head. He talks about Tlou and Naughty Dog as if they invented the cure for cancer.
@Lenemus I guess that's true he's proud of what they accomplished in terms of storytelling. He's proud of the work & story. Which is the opposite of humbleness. I laughed when you said he loves the smell of his own farts Hahahh
I guess I don't blame him this is one of the most beloved stories of our time for those who have played or watched it. Can't imagine what it's like to be a part of its creation. It would totally go to my head so I guess I don't blame him x) I think he's still relatively humble he allows others to share space with him in his pride so its not like he hogs the limelight
@@noneofyourbusiness4159 Did you watch Retro Replay? His arrogance ruined the show and his friendship with Nolan North. He certainly hogged all the limelight then, for everyone to see. Nolan North is a good example of a successful voice actor that’s actually humble and don’t steal the limelight.
Pedro and Troy both played Joel really well.
Troy is always a great interview. He's great at telling a story.
Troy is a legend hes also amazing in bioshock infinite ,and the other 200 games he's in always top notch.
A top performance was Pagan Min from Farcry 4
He sounds the same in every game. He's only had 4 standout roles.
Just 1 standout role is good. 4 that's talent. He's obviously doing something right. Don't know if your comment was hate or not. But seemed like it
@@Jack_Crenshaw You are insane if you actually think he sounds the same in all his roles. Tell me how his Joker and Joel sound anything alike, or his Pagan Min. Like you have to be trolling.
Just watched episode 8. I think he did an exceptional job. I totally felt for his character. I saw a guy who was losing faith in his leader, was desperate, had just lost a friend. Someone who had made it so far and didn’t want to lose it all to starvation or some random outlaws that had come into his community. I felt for his character, even if he was one of the antagonists. So awesome that he’s not just a brilliant voice actor but also an incredible actor as well.
Great interviewers are under appreciated. Listening and not interrupting is a skill. I'm terrible at it myself so I appreciate it a lot more when the person being interviewed is allowed to just speak.
"hes our daddy" 🤣 shes not wrong
That ending story. So motivational and encouraging, especially in my current situation in a new field where I feel I’m not good enough cause of fear and doubt. Thanks Troy. Glad you walked in anyway and knocked it out of the park and became Joel.
Troy, you and Ashley did an absolutely wonderful job of voicing the characters of Joel and Ellie and that played a big part in the success of the game. The feeling you both put into the characters made it such an emotional ride.
Good luck to you both in your future ventures.
Pedro's doing a great job as Joel, it would have course been great if you'd had more acting on film experience and Neil had offered you the part.
This was a truly great interview. So fitting for one of, if not the, greatest stories of all time
From playing Joel in the last of us video game to playing James on the tv series Troy Baker is truly one underrated, awesome, and talented actor he should be starring in major motion pictures because he's that good because he deserves major recognition for his acting skills.
Baker is a legendary voice actor. He's done so much high quality work in some of my favorite video games.
Love ya Troy! Can’t wait to see you & Ashley on the show! 🎉
I love how passionate he is about The Last of Us and his experience making the game. Big ups to Neil, Craig and HBO for giving him the opportunity to host the podcast and for allowing him to have a say in who they should cast to play his role in live action.
Yeah that was a nice little caveat that surprised me. Love everything from the game to the show.
The Last of Us was the very first and pretty much only M rated game my mom let my brother buy on the PS3. We rented it first and then bought digital, but my mom was in tune while watching my brother play the rental and she even got vocal with the gameplay. We will always remember the words coming out of her mouth “oh you’ve got to shank that guy”
God Troy Baker is so great. So glad him (and Ashley) are getting the recognition they deserves for their roles. Plus I’ve watched every interview about the game so it’s nice getting to hear him talk about Last of Us again
he is so genuinly enthusiastic, its so refreshing. hes really amazing
I love this guy! What a great interview!! Seeing his own character as the protagonist of a different movie is brilliant. ☺️
The almost mention of Jak and Daxter actually made me teary eyed.
Love that niel said 'we need to make this game like it'll be the only one we make' ..gold. we are so fortunate everyone who worked on the game and now this show has and is throwing their whole hearts into this masterpiece
100%
If only more works in media - be that game, movie, series, book etc - were treated in that way. Can you imagine? I get that money and franchises are big factors, especially for big studios, but the pressure to create for the sake of raking in moolah at the detriment of telling a story with the care it deserves is such a shame.
Here's hoping that between things like Arcane and TLOU, we'll get to see more quality coming through - and getting the financial reward they thoroughly deserve
Dang I love Troy. Such a relaxed humble dude. Super talented. What an awesome story behind his career.
Sorry, edit for sidenote: The Last of Us really is the best game ever made.
Troy is a legend. Glad to see the public actually hear and see him.
This is a pretty awesome interview:)
5:58 did he just confirm that there is gonna be a part 3 unintentionally?
Haha I had to rewind that part to make sure of what he said.. interesting
I fully expect a third game, this only supports it. Just from a logical point of view its the clear direction to go
@@RebelInquiry yeah I’ve been suspecting one also. Especially with how well the show has been doing and I don’t believe they’d end Ellie’s story with such ambiguity.
I mean yea come on. Ofcourse there's gonna be a third one
There have already been credible inside reports that Naughty Dog is working on Part 3. If the series had ended after the first game I would have been satisfied, but the ending of Part 2 really does feel like there should be one more game to bring things to a true and proper conclusion. It seems Neil and his team agreed too.
just out of context, troy look so young, I thought he is in his 20s or 30s like he is younger than Pedro only a year and he looks this good?
Glad to know that the guy interview is a gamer. He knows what he's talking about and they're both interested to what Troy was sharing
Anyone else notice the cut when he starts talking about Joel's backstory in the show?
15:05 seems like Troy dropped a show spoiler and it got edited out lol
It's a very beautifull thing, Troy, Ashley, Pedro and Bella. Fantastic actors!
Please interview Ashley Johnson! we want to know her pov as well!!!! Can't wait for the last episode
Troy Baker is an amazing human.
Great interview! They let him talk!
Oh man after watching this interview I'm super excited to see his character in these last 2 episodes !!!!!!!!!
My favorite thing is that it’s all love between him and Pedro. No resentment whatsoever.
There's also no point to it. People can appreciate the show and then either watch how the game is or experience it themselves just to appreciate the differences. In the end both of their takes on the character get more exposure.
I wish we could see Troy more on tv shows or movies. He obviously has got the talent for it.
This guy is well-spoken.
I went into computer science with the hope of working at naughty dog because of this game. Turns out I hated coding with a passion, so I switched to mechanical engineering, but this game has truly shaped my life in a way that is absolutely wild to think about.
I really like this interview, his energy is good and you get to see the differences in approach from video games approach to acting and televisions.
I love Toby. He heart and words speak art.
It lasted over 40 years, but finally video games are taken as serious art form. So many great games that could be great movies or TV shows. Mass Effect, Elder Scrolls etc.
I love it. Always great to see Troy talk Last Of Us.
The host laughing at "i had a final fantasy haircut" while the hostess doesnt get is so good
Even though they fucked up part 2, still appreciate this man the one and only Joel, great jobe.
Im a huge Ashley Johnson fan as well, so it's cool to get that insight.
Gotta say, this was a well paced and jus honest interview 🙌🏼🙏🏼 thank you
Josh Brolin as Joel? That was a choice I didn't even think of. Pascal amazing regardless.
Wow, that last story he told blew my mind. I wish they had asked him to explain why he felt like he wasn't right for the part, cause I can't imagine them doing the game with anybody else.
6:01 dam he just confirmed the third one 😂
Thats what i said!
It’s crazy to see the show so successful that they go back to the actors from the games. You almost wish Troy was Joel in the show but they now both live in different mediums respectively. Lot of folks from the show are going to go back to the game now.
I love listening to him talk
What a fantastic interview. Ash and Brandon asked interesting questions, but more than that, just let an amazing actor and fascinating person in Troy Baker just TALK. Well done, and loved it.
It's amazing how a game such as last of us became so close to people's hearts that they reconnected with family that formed a strong bond with fathers and daughters, that is something legendary
That was a great conversation...i watched the interview from begining without skipping..Troy such a good talker
What a cool guy. I need to play these games.
My excitement of listening this man talks is as high as i have for the show itself 😂
I used to listen to this dude in some old jrpg’s, and now he’s here. Amazing, good for him.
As a fan its really amazing to witness all of this thanks to the tlou team!
When interviewers are genuinely interested in what the interviewee has to say, it makes for wonderful interviews. Allowing Troy the time to answer and really flesh out his answers, while asking interesting questions and obviously knowing the material, really created a phenomenal interview.
Also I had to look up a photo of Troy from 2008 to see what kind of hair cut he had, and honestly, par for the course in the first decade of the 2000's LOL.
And the story of him almost leaving, almost missing the chance to be Joel, just goes to show you should always take the chance. Even if you don't think anything will come from it, even if you think someone else would be better. Just try it out, and if it doesn't work out, it's fine. There are more chances, other things to move on to. But if it does work out, it can open an entirely new world of possibilities.
What an excellent interview
Certainly not the first time games have gone for emotional resonance and human connection, but maybe the first time a big studio in the West did(and kept it relatively grounded in reality).
The title is all wrong. Troy didn’t meet Pedro, Pedro met Troy.
@@Entertainment0100 how?
@@asdowo111 it's a bot man, come on
@@Luca-VA I know
Absolutely! Troy is just such an amazing guy and done so much in regards to videogames. He's awesome in Death Stranding too. The guy is a giant in his own right, but people don't want to realize that videogames are not the lower medium anymore. In this case especially.
Cringe
I wish I could be good at making mundane stories interesting like this dude.
The voice acting 🐐
This is such a great interview! Troy is a fantastic interviewee.
Troy Baker is awesome, not only as Joel but he played Revolver Ocelot in MGSV perfectly.
I'd love a third game set in those 20 years between Sarahs death and Joel arriving at the Hydro Dam but instead of playing as Joel we play as Tommy.
We meet Tess, Maria etc... So yeah I'd love to see it
THANK YOU! I want a story with Joel and Tommy’s bad years, maybe swap between playing both
@@jk-474 I think it would serve as a good game to tie us over until Part 3. I even wrote what I thought the plot would be for fun, including locations, characters etc. It's a fun idea
His point about surviving the walking dead vs the last of us was something I was thinking about earlier. Its not super hard to survive in the walking dead universe if you use commonsense especially in terms of dealing with walkers vs the Last of Us where every infected you come across is automatically going to be a life and death battle.
Yep and having to spot the spores so you don't get infected from breathing them in also
I never even knew who Pedro pascal was. I'm blown away by him. Incredible.
You should check out The Mandolorian then. Face obscured by a helmet 100% of the time and STILL an amazing actor (in a more action-y role with a fair amount of heart)
@@cambion_entertainment sweet! I'll check it out
He also has a legendary role in game of thrones
How? He’s been everywhere and in everything since S4 of Game of Thrones. Best character in the best season of such a monumental show, he deserves it all.
Its so interesting almost seeing the joel in him as a person, how he acts, his mannerisms, his voice, his way with words, these instances of what he put into joels character come out in him, and its really interesting
It’s insane to think this game made some people resolve real life issues with family members. That’s awesome.
He is so bright, and knowable.