This The Last of Us actor completely forgot he’d worked with Pedro Pascal decades earlier
Pedro Pascal and Joe Pantoliano worked together before The Last of Us. (@realjoeypants)
Pedro Pascal and Joe Pantoliano worked together before The Last of Us. (@realjoeypants)
Would you forget if Pedro Pascal stepped foot in your house? Joe Pantoliano did!
The Sopranos and The Matrix star Joe Pantoliano appeared in the latest episode of The Last of Us, but his connection to co-star Pascal actually goes way back.
(Warning, spoilers for episode 6 of The Last of Us ahead)
In episode six of the post-apocalyptic thriller, the penultimate episode of the series’ second season, the relationship between Ellie (Bella Ramsey) and Joel (Pascal) is explored through flashbacks hooked to Ellie’s birthdays.
Amidst the highs and lows of Ellie and Joel’s father-daughter-like bond, one sequence sees Pantoliano appear as Eugene, the husband of Joel’s eventual therapist, Gail (Catherine O’Hara).
Though Eugene meets a rather sad end, as has come to be expected from this zombie-ridden show, this isn’t the first time he and Pascal collaborated.
Speaking about reuniting with Pascal on set, Joe Pantoliano revealed to Variety that he had entirely forgotten he had met the actor before.
“I saw Pedro, and I was about say, ‘Hi, nice to meet you,’ and all of a sudden he starts going, ‘Joey Pants! Joey Pants!’” Pantoliano noted.
“And he starts hugging me and kissing me, and ‘How are you, how’ve you been?!’ And I’m like, ‘Oh my God!’”
He explained: “Pedro is like, ‘You don’t f***ing remember me?! I’ve been to your house, for Christ’s sake! I’ve been to your apartment in Hoboken!’ Then he said, ‘Sam Weisman? The play reading?’”
Pantoliano then noted that he had remembered a “skinny” Pascal 25 years ago but the man standing in front of him was now a “whole other person.”
“I was like, Holy Christ, yeah, I remember that guy. So it was fantastic to reacquaint myself with him.
“We went out to dinner, and it was just like no time had diminished, you know, except now he’s a big movie star.”
Who is Eugene in The Last of Us and was he in the game?
In The Last of Us, Joe Pantoliano plays Eugene, a patrolman who lived in Jackson, Wyoming, and was a member of the Fireflies. While living in Jackson, he formed a close friendship with Dina (played by Isabela Merced in the show), Ellie’s girlfriend.
The character was mentioned in The Last of Us Part II game, but brought to life by showrunner Neil Druckmann for the show.
Speaking to Variety about the character’s appearance in the show, Druckmann shared: “I get excited when I see these opportunities. I’m like, ‘Oh, I don’t know Eugene that well!’
“The story we told [in the game] was somewhat superficial. The way this character comes in really gets to the heart of Joel and Ellie and their relationship.”
Though Eugene has a fleeting appearance in both the game and the show, his presence continues as his abandoned cannabis den is a safe point that Ellie uses.
Additionally, Eugene’s death in the show drives an emotional wedge between Joel and Ellie, as he promised her he wouldn’t execute Eugene, but ended up following protocol as he’d been bitten.
This moment is a key scene for Ellie and Joel, and the heartbreaking reality that they are both trying to survive.
The Last of Us airs on Sundays on HBO in the US, and the following day on Sky Atlantic in the UK.
