Who Plays Young Joel Miller in ‘The Last of Us’ Season 2, Explained
The Last of Us’ flashback-filled episode 6 has introduced a younger version of Pedro Pascal’s character. Here’s who portrays young Joel in the second season and what new details about the character’s backstory the scene reveals.
The Last of Us’ ongoing second season got back to breaking everyone’s hearts again, finally arriving to a series of flashback scenes with Ellie and Joel not long before the latter’s tragic death.
The episode briefly travels even farther in time, giving a glimpse of what Joel and Tommy’s relationship with their abusive father were like.
The short sequence introduced a never-seen-before trio of The Last of Us’ cast, including the actor who portrayed young Joel. Here’s everything you need to know about the new cast members and the scene’s impact on Joel’s storyline arc.
Andrew Diaz Was Young Joel Miller in ‘The Last of Us’ Season 2 Episode 6
The actor, who previously shared the screen with Pedro Pascal in Robert Rodriguez’s 2020 superhero kids movie We Can Be Heroes, coincidentally got to portray the younger version of Pascal’s character in The Last of Us’ latest episode.
Still, the show’s co-creator Neil Druckmann had no idea that this would become some sort of a reunion for Pascal and Diaz after starring in another movie together.
“We were just looking for a good actor that, if you squinted, you could kind of see Pedro. And he has a very Pedro vibe to him”, Druckmann said in an interview with Entertainment Weekly.
The scene also features the younger version of Joel’s brother Tommy, who is portrayed by David Miranda, as well as Joel and Tommy’s father Javier Miller whose role went to Tony Dalton.
“Tony Dalton was my first choice. I just loved his performance so much in Better Call Saul. I jokingly refer to him as the most charming, threatening man I've ever seen on television”, Druckmann added.
‘The Last of Us’ Episode 6 Opening Scene Adds Another Tragic Layer to Joel’s Arc
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For both the video game and the show’s fans it’s never been a secret that Pedro Pascal’s character had to go through a lot, including losing his only child and never stopping to reel from it until the very end. As it turned out, Joel’s suffering started way earlier than some might have expected.
The latest episode’s opening scene talks about it explicitly, suggesting that Joel and Tommy had a pretty tough childhood with the father who has been abusive both emotionally and physically with them.
Apart from that, the scene highlights that Javier has zero remorse about hitting his children, justifying it with the fact that his own father was way crueler to him back in the day.
When Is ‘The Last of Us’ Next Episode Being Released?
The second season’s finale will air on Max on May 25.
