Kaitlyn Dever stepped into the role of Abby in Season 2 of HBO's The Last of Us during a profoundly difficult personal period, navigating significant grief while portraying a controversial gaming character. Her father's strong interest in the character led her to engage with the game's ending and informed her early approach. After meetings with showrunners Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin and playing Abby's early gameplay, Dever connected with the character's strength and complexity. The showrunners granted creative freedom that allowed Dever to draw inspiration from Laura Bailey while making the role her own. The performance attracted both intense fan scrutiny and critical recognition, including an Emmy nomination.
It was actually my dad's thoughts and opinions on Abby that were way stronger than mine,
You need to sit down, and you just need to watch this.
Just from my initial understanding, she was a very, very, very, very strong woman. And that in and of itself was intriguing to me. After meeting with them and discussing Abby further, I gained more insight into what they want for the role in the show,
This made me even more excited to take on this kind of role. Because while I was excited to use the inspiration that Laura Bailey and her performance in the show, I was also excited about the freedom that Craig and Neil were giving me to bring Abby to life in my own way. I never felt pigeonholed in any sort of way, which was exciting.
Collection
[
|
...
]