A role changed Troy Baker’s negative perspective on The Last of Us adaptation.

HBO’s The Last of Us was a smash-hit success, breaking the long curse of a video game adaptation into a successful film or TV Series. Though gamers nitpicked some minor details from the show, they soon praised the show for being immensely faithful to the source material.

Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey in The Last of Us. Credits: HBO
Surprisingly, Troy Baker did not have much faith in the show until he met with Neil Druckmann, who cleared the fog of uncertainty from Baker’s mind. He made the actor believe that the adapted post-apocalyptic TV Series was going to be a huge hit, thanks to the role he was offered.

Troy Baker Opens Up About His Role In The Last of Us

There’s no denying that the team behind The Last of Us had done an active work in making the show so successful. Neil Druckmann, the director of the game, was heavily involved in the series to ensure that the story followed the source material.
A still from The Last of Us. Credits: HBO
With a rating of 8.7 on IMDb, the show has been a massive success, with its cast adding to the popularity of the TV Series. The adaptation featured Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey in the roles of Joel Miller and Ellie, and one can not deny that they had flawless on-screen chemistry.

Troy Baker, who appeared in the side role of James in the first season of the show, was initially hesitant about the show’s success. During an exclusive interview with Deadline, the interviewer asked him to share his initial thoughts that came to his mind, when he was asked to “play a lowekey villain.”
Troy Baker as James. Credits: HBO
Baker opened up about how Druckmann was hesitant to pitch the idea and gave him the power of choice. Baker said,

It wasn’t even that. Neil was coy about this potential role. He was like, “So, there’s a character that we have in mind for you, if you’re interested. If you don’t feel interested, it’s totally fine.” And I’m like, “Dude, if there’s anything for me….”

Naturally, he agreed, explaining that his primary notion was that he would be told to play a Clicker. Since the role of James was an “upgrade” to him, he was delighted and looked at it as “a good challenge.” He added,

Look, I thought I was going to be a clicker. So, this is an upgrade. [Laughs]. I was so happy. And then, when reading the script for James, I was like, “OK, there’s a good challenge.”

Nevertheless, the Batman vs. Robin voice actor had a blast playing the role because he had a different goal, whilst being a villain. He opened up more about his twisted goal in the same interview.

Troy Baker Gets Candid On Why He Loves To Be a Villain

Baker is known for his number of voice projects, but his most notable role would be that of Joel Miller in the video games. While he could not portray the same role in the TV Series, he decided to appear in the side role of James in Season 1, and he played the role flawlessly.
A still from The Last of Us. Credits: HBO
During the same interview with Deadline, he shared that his original goal as an antagonist is to show the audience that he’s “not the villain.” He ardently believes that if he could make his viewers love the villain, even for a “second,” he will be able to make them hate him even more, and he just loves the sound of it. He said,

I love playing a villain to show you he’s not the villain. Because if I can make you like him for just a second, that makes you hate him even more when I need you to. I love that dance; it’s very appealing to me.

Baker continued that when he bagged the role of James in the adaptation, he brainstormed on how he could become more than a mere thug to someone raising the stakes of the story.

So, when it came to approaching James, I asked, “How can we make him not a henchman? How can we make him not just this David’s ‘Thug A,’ and make it so that he has some actual stake in the story?” And for me, it’s all about understanding that every character we meet throughout this story is somehow a reflection of Joel and or Ellie.

Indeed, it looks like the primary reason for the show’s success was its authenticity with the source material. The secondary reason would be the cast members, who would go the extra mile to ensure that the story was gripping from the get-go.