Key Takeaways
- Troy Baker had a pivotal moment on set of HBO’s The Last of Us, reflecting on his successful career.
- Baker played James in HBO’s adaptation of The Last of Us but was killed off early.
- Baker recalls humorous and awkward moments while filming HBO’s The Last of Us, reflecting on his journey.
Troy Baker, who voices the gruff and iconic voice of Joel Miller in The Last of Us games, recalls a moment on the set of HBO’s The Last of Us where he had to pinch himself due to how far he had come in his career. From voicing various characters in Bleach and Dragon Ball Z, Baker has had a long and illustrious line of work to date, but most people would know him for his incredible roles in Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us and Uncharted 4. Working alongside the likes of Nolan North, it was his huge undertaking in video games that made Baker a household name.
Although Baker didn’t renew his role as Joel in HBO’s adaptation of The Last of Us, with Pedro Pascal taking on the rugged survivor instead, he did still get a starring role as James, David’s right-hand man, who begins to lose faith in David’s decisions. Sadly, Baker’s role was cut fairly short when he was killed by Ellie, so a season two appearance is out of the question. However, when HBO’s The Last of Us returns, fans will be greeted with plenty of new (and old) faces, including Kaitlyn Dever as Abby, Jeffrey Wright as the ruthless WLF leader Isaac Dixon, Pedro Pascal (Joel), Bella Ramsey (Ellie) and Gabriel Luna (Tommy).
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Troy Baker Remembers Overwhelming Moment While On Set In HBO’s The Last Of Us
Talking to GQ recently, Baker discussed his role as the voice of Indiana in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle video game by MachineGames, and how he wore a leather jacket at his first taping. He also recalls that the game’s director, Jerk Gustafsson, said how much he sounded like Harrison Ford, which could have been a key factor in how he got the job, but it’s more likely due to how amazingly Baker slips with ease into any character he takes on.
In between Indiana Jones chats, Baker touched upon his time on set with HBO’s The Last of Us and recalled one awkward moment where a serious scene was being made and he just started laughing. Wondering what was going on, Scott Shepherd, who played David and shared a lot of scenes with Baker, questioned his terrible timing for humor. Baker said that he had a spontaneous reality moment and couldn’t believe that he had come this far, replying “‘Dude, if you could go back 10 years and tell the guy who walked into that game audition: You’re not going to believe this shit.”
Baker also remembers that he would scrutinize his performances throughout the making of the series, watching his previous takes on the video monitors, and would even take it upon himself to make the call to reshoot some of his scenes. However, director Neil Druckmann had to tell Baker that he needed to trust his process and, essentially, take a backseat. As for what’s next for Baker, it seems as though he is reuniting with Naughty Dog once again for the studio’s next project. However, nothing has been confirmed as yet about what his role, or the game, will actually become.
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Source: GQ