Pedro Pascal, Gabriel Luna on their character's brotherhood in The Last of Us season 2: ‘A real natural building'
In The Last of Us Season 2, Joel and Tommy's bond, portrayed by Pedro Pascal and Gabriel Luna, faces new challenges.
In the highly anticipated series, The Last of Us Season 2, the series' emotional core remains deeply rooted in the bond between Joel played by Pedro Pascal and his younger brother, Tommy played by Gabriel Luna. Pascal and Luna discuss the brotherly bond their characters share amid new threats looming past wounds resurfacing and their connection being put to the test like never before.
Also Read: Pedro Pascal reveals why The Last of Us Season 2 put him in an ‘unhealthy mindset’
Pascal and Luna discuss their character’s brotherly bond in new season
During a press conference in Los Angeles, Pascal reflected on the natural evolution of his on-screen bond with Luna. He described their connection as an organic progression from Series 1 to Series 2, shaped by their deepening dynamic both on and off-screen.
Pascal said, “I think that there was just a very, very well-placed arc for us. I started the season with [Luna]. We started Season 1 together on D-Day, right? And so there was a kind of bonding, initiation process, stepping into all of it. We had our rehearsals and pre-production. We went river rafting.” Luna added, “We did go river rafting, Bow River, which was really nice,” as reported by Variety.
The 49-year-old actor mentioned that in season 1 of The Last of Us, Joel and Tommy were separated and then “put in the snow together.” Referencing Luna, he added, “I had you there when I feel like a lot of the flesh of my character started to display itself and got to be played. So in Season 2, it felt like a real natural building of what we had established as characters and as scene partners.”
The co-star seemed to agree with Pascal and added, “I think when we first started, we had a really nice FaceTime call where I felt a very uncanny familiarity with you.”
Pascal addresses the five-year time jump in season 2
When asked about his mindset in approaching the five-year time jump between Season 1 and Season 2, Pascal acknowledged the challenges of portraying Joel’s evolution. With Joel and Ellie played by Bella Ramsey somewhat estranged at the start of the new series, he highlighted the importance of capturing the emotional distance between them.
Pascal shared with Ramsey, “I feel like it was a beautiful setup by Craig and Neil that the first thing that I got to shoot was just you and I and in kind of an intimate setting. There’s incredibly painful distance between the two of them and the playing of the scene, but we still got to be on set and f**k around and laugh and stuff like that. And that was incredibly comforting, that was like coming home.”
