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Nick Offerman is probably best known for playing Ron Swanson in NBC’s sitcom Parks and Recreation. After all, with this role, Offerman won a Television Critics Association Award for Individual Achievement in Comedy and two nominations for the Critics’ Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. But this talented actor has proven he’s capable of much more than this.
Ever since Parks and Recreation came to an end in 2015, Offerman has appeared in numerous movies and TV shows. Some of his most memorable projects include Fargo, The House of Tomorrow, a crafting show with Amy Poehler, and his voice work for animated movies like The Lego Movie franchise and Hotel Transylvania 2.
Most recently, Offerman landed a small but significant role in HBO’s live-action series inspired by the popular video game The Last of Us. In an interview he gave during the L.A. premiere of the series, Offerman revealed that he knew very little about video games before being cast in this role. Luckily, this didn’t seem to affect his performance.
How The Last Of Us Went From Being A Popular Videogame To A Successful TV Series
The Last of Us is an action-adventure game developed by Naughty Dog and released for PlayStation by Sony Computer Entertainment back in 2013. Players get to play as Joel, a smuggler who finds himself tasked with escorting a teenage girl, Ellie, across a post-apocalyptic version of the United States.
Soon after it came out, The Last of Us received plenty of critical acclaim, with tons of praise for its narrative, visuals, sound design, and characterization. It soon became one of the best-selling video games of all time, selling over 1.3 million copies only in the first week after its release. Moreover, this popular video game won multiple awards, including various Game of the Year awards.
The success of the original game spawned many other games, like The Last of Us: Left Behind, and other pieces of media, from a comic book to a live show. Most recently, it was announced that HBO would be creating a live-action adaptation of the video game starring Pedro Pascal as Joel and Bella Ramsey as Ellie.
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Nick Offerman Admitted He Knew Very Little About Video Games Before He Got Cast In The Last Of Us
Nick Offerman was cast as Bill, one of the many characters that Joel and Ellie meet along their journey. This character first appears on the third episode of HBO’s The Last of Us. Originally, Con O’Neill was cast in this role, but ultimately this Laurence Olivier Award-winning actor had to drop the role due to scheduling conflicts. So Offerman was then offered the role.
During the L.A. premiere of the series, Offerman spoke with Deadline about how he felt about being cast in a show inspired by a video game, being that he knew very little about video games.
“The last video games I played were in about 1998. So, I am completely ignorant to the game.” The Parks and Recreation star then added, “I’ve known [series creator and writer] Craig Mazin for a while and he needed somebody who could dig a hole, and shoot out in the rain all day, so he thought of me, thankfully.”
Although not the first option, it would seem that Offerman was a good choice for this role.
So Far, HBO’s The Last Of Us Has Been A Huge Success
The first season of The Last of Us premiered earlier this year on HBO’s streaming platform and it’s already a huge commercial and critical success. According to The Hollywood Reporter, approximately 4.7 million viewers watched the first episode of The Last Of Us only on the first night of availability on HBO Max. In fact, it was the second-largest debut for HBO since 2010, surpassing other popular shows like Euphoria and House of the Dragon.
Moreover, the series has received plenty of critical acclaim from fans and critics alike. The series already has a 99% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with the critics’ consensus being that the show does justice to the original source material, making it one of the best video game adaptations of all time. In addition to this, the cast’s performances have also received widespread praise.
