HBO's The Last of Us co-creator explains why Nick Offerman was cast as Bill, despite having a more comedic background. While The Last of Us generally follows the journey of Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) as they desperately try to find the Fireflies, who are waiting across the post-apocalyptic United States, episode 3 featured a significant departure from Joel and Ellie. Instead, the narrative focused on Bill and Frank (Murray Bartlett), two men who meet years after the outbreak and fall in love in the meantime.
While Offerman played his role brilliantly, there was a question of why such a comedy-focused actor – who first came into prominence through Parks and Recreation – would be cast for such a dramatic and heavy role that might even lead to a potential The Last of Us spin-off
Appearing on The Last of Us Podcast, co-creator Craig Mazin explained exactly why Offerman was cast in the role and why he was so confident that the comedic actor would succeed, even without the typical background in serious drama. Check out his quote below via Collider:
"[Breaking Bad creator] Vince Gilligan said once that he loves hiring comic actors for non-comic roles. Because they have an innate humanity that is there underneath the drama, and they understand the absurdity of the world because that is the bedrock of comedy. And I think Nick is a great example of what Vince is talking about... He just, there's a humanity to him underneath this gruff, angry, closed-off man."
Why The Last Of Us Episode 3 Deviated From The Last Of Us' Story
While The Last of Us episode 3 was a touching exploration of love at the end of days, it deviated heavily from the source material. Though HBO's The Last of Us has taken great pains to ensure its adherence to the video game, Bill and Frank are never seen together in the game. Instead, Frank is already dead by the time he appears, which is why Frank's show fate is much better, as it grants an opportunity to explore Frank as a character and to showcase the extent of his feelings for Bill before his sudden and unexpected death.
Yet HBO's The Last of Us also deviated from its story in another way entirely, as it also shifted away from the stories of Joel and Ellie to focus on Frank and Bill for nearly the entire extent of episode 3. A stand-alone story, it contributed little to the overall plot that could not have been established by Bill's note alone, raising the question of why it even needed to be included in the first place. While episode 3 was originally much longer, what remains shows that love doesn't need to be limited to the world before the apocalypse. Just as Bill found Frank, humans can still hold onto their humanity in The Last of Us.
Was The Last Of Us Episode 3 Necessary?
As touching as the episode was, the question of its necessity looms over it, especially since The Last of Us only has so much screen time to go around. Yet the episode does seem to be practically essential, as it provides Joel the push that he needed to start taking care of Ellie — both emotionally and physically. Rather than teaching him to view her as a burden, Bill encourages Joel even after his own death, giving the man a reason to allow himself to care. Bill's letter also foreshadows Joel's season 1 ending, making the letter scene at least one of the most important in The Last of Us.
Source: The Last of Us Podcast (via Collider)