Victoria Thomas (‘The Last of Us’ casting director) on discovering unknown actors for major roles [Exclusive Video Interview]
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“I think a lot of people don’t know what we do because a lot is done behind closed doors. And I think what’s great about what we do is that we really are affecting how a movie’s going to turn out, and that’s very exciting,” reveals casting director Victoria Thomas. She earned an Emmy nomination casting the hit drama “The Last of Us” for HBO. It’s a project she says needed the right mix of known and unknown talent to capture the essence of the post-apocalyptic world that viewers couldn’t get enough of. “From the beginning we wanted to have the ability to introduce new actors into it, but also to sort of honor the game and honor the actors who have been a part of it, and also honor the fans,” she explains. Watch the exclusive video interview above.
“This was a process that was started during the pandemic and everything was done via Zoom.” Casting began in the fall of 2020, and it was the first time that Thomas had ever worked with Craig Mazin. Getting to know how a new director’s mind works is always an essential process for the casting director, but thankfully Mazin was “very good at communicating” and “very precise” with his casting needs, according to Thomas. Given how well the ensemble of actors came together, you would never know that this pair never even met each other in person until the series premiere party.
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When it came to filling the lead roles of Joel and Ellie with Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, Thomas is quick to praise Mazin and Neil Druckmann for creating the juicy parts. “The characters were so nicely delineated that if we had good actors there, if they hit all the character beats of those two characters, that’s a pretty interesting chemistry that happens.” Ellie provided some unique casting challenges. “It was hard trying to get someone who was very young, but who had a sort of lived life within her,” describes Thomas. She saw many talented actresses for the coveted role, but Ramsey was the only one to check off every box. “She had a toughness, just a sort of a depth along with being a young girl that we were sort of looking for,” notes the casting director, “Bella just seemed to sort of fulfill everything that we were looking for.”
There was a desire to place some big names in several of the supporting roles, but the road trip meant that most characters outside of Joel and Ellie only appeared for one episode. “It was really sort of having to explain to agents why their actors should do a guest star episode. So you sort of had to get past that first. And then the material sort of spoke for itself,” explains Thomas. Luckily several stars jumped at the opportunity, with the likes of Melanie Lynskey, Anna Torv and Rutina Wesley joining the supporting cast.
SEE Timothy Good and Emily Mendez interview: ‘The Last of Us’ editors
When it comes to the casting decision for Sam, a deaf boy who briefly befriends Ellie before meeting a tragic end, Thomas could not be more proud of actor Keivonn Woodard. “For someone who hadn’t done much acting at all, I mean, he was watchable and he wasn’t afraid of the camera, he just seemed to sort of slip into the character,” reveals the casting director. Even though the audition took place on a Zoom call, Thomas could see something special. “Something came through from him that didn’t come through from other actors who read for the part,” she remembers, “there was room to sort of grow. You could sort of sense that.” Woodard would go on to earn an Emmy nomination for this role, one of nine acting nominations for the series.
Thomas admits that “you sort of feel like a bit of a mother hen” watching actors grow in skill, and in their careers, from her seat in the audition room. “You can be a fan of someone for a very long time…You bring them in time after time, and they don’t get the part,” she explains of the long road to success. But that makes it all the more gratifying when an actor she loves finally lands a prime role. “What I say to people sometimes, it’s just timing. It’s the right role, the right time,” she says of the process. “It’s very gratifying to see people grow and rise to the occasion.”
Thomas is a an Emmy winner for “Watchmen.” She secured three additional nominations for “Roots,” “Insecure,” and “The Last of Us.” Thomas also earned a BAFTA nomination for “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.”
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