Actor Jeffrey Pierce on ‘Perry’ from ‘The Last of Us’, and the captivating live action adaptation (VIDEO)
*This following contains spoilers from The Last of Us up to the current aired episode.
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 14 — The live action series of The Last of Us which is based on the highly acclaimed video game of the same name, has checked all the right boxes so far when it comes to the on-screen adaptation.
The HBO series takes place 20 years after modern civilisation has fallen in 2003, due to a mutated fungus that infects and zombifies humans.
The audience is introduced to Joel (Pedro Pascal) and his daughter Sarah (Nico Parker) — who sadly, doesn’t make it past the first episode.
The series follows Joel’s journey through the post-apocalyptic world, after he was hired to smuggle 14-year-old Ellie (Bella Ramsey) out of an oppressive quarantine zone.
During this period, most of the survivors in the US are governed by the Federal Disaster Response Agency (Fedra) who are a fascist regime.
What starts as a small job soon becomes a brutal, heartbreaking journey, as both Joel and Ellie are constantly on the move, and depend on each other for survival.
The series which is now mid-season, has definitely set the tone amongst audiences especially with their latest episode, Endure and Survive, that sees the conclusion of the pair’s journey in Kansas, which began in episode four.
Episode four and five also bring in a familiar aspect from the game into the series through the Henry (Lamar Johnson) and Sam (Keivonn Woodard) who are fleeing away from The Resistance; a rebel group that overthrew Fedra in Kansas.
The brothers are hunted by the now head of The Resistance, Kathlyn (Melanie Lynskey) and her loyal right hand man Perry (Jeffrey Pierce) along with their bands of rebels before crossing paths with Joel and Ellie.
Perry and The Resistance
Pierce (centre right) describes Melanie Lynskey (centre left) as absolutely magnetic and unpredictable while being transparent of her transformation into the role of Kathlyn, leader of The Resistance. -— Picture courtesy of HBO GO.
Jeffrey Pierce is no stranger to the world of The Last of Us as he did not just play Perry in the series, he also voiced Joel’s brother, Tommy in the game.
In a recent press junket, Pierce shared with Malay Mail, on his tough, militarised character and the relationship between Perry and Kathlyn as well as The Resistance.
“In my mind, he got off of high school and joined the military. Then he advanced through the ranks, got involved in sort of top tier operation. So every step of the way, he’s looking for purpose.
“He’s looking for ways to justify the things he has done and to say that ‘I’m a good guy’. And the truth is, between 1990 to 2003, the things you’ve been asked to do in the American military is not always ‘good guy’.
“So he was on this ‘quest’, which built this idea of being this justified righteous warrior and every step of the way, just proving that,” Pierce said.
He added that after the modern world collapsed, Perry’s sense of purpose was rekindled when he met Kathlyn and The Resistance.
“I think she brings an intensity that he admired. I think he’s willing to subvert his instincts to her, because he may have taught everybody how to shoot and how to fight but she’s the one who crafts the strategy overall to apply what he brought to the table.
“So there’s a level of respect, earned respect between the two of them that’s he’s willing to let her instinct lead. In this particular situation, she’s been a little bit driven more by vengeance than her cleverness that got us here.”
A lesson in humanity and what drives the live action series
The live action adaptation of 'The Last of Us' has been gaining praise from fans of the video game and audiences even though the series differs a bit from the source material. — Picture courtesy of HBO GO.
The Endure and Survive episode opens with a scene of The Resistance overthrowing Fedra in Kansas — a violent look at humanity as, behind the cheers of freedom, the streets are rampant with beatings, assaults and murders of Fedra officials and collaborators.
Touching on the theme from the episode, Pierce shared that it captures the effect of having a sanctimonious mindset, while also comparing the mob mentality to the infamous execution of Mussolini and his mistress, Clara Petacci.
And it is the same mindset that fuelled the Perry character as well.
“I don’t know if that makes him good or bad or in between, but it sort of points out the flaw in that system of thinking. If we think of ourselves as heroes, we should ask ourselves the deeper questions on what we did.
“I think that the worst things that are done, are done in a sense of self-righteousness and just cause. Mussolini and his mistress, got exactly what they deserved, and the people who did that to them felt absolutely righteous at what they did.
“But what horrific things human beings do to each other is no way you can call that a righteous act, even if they did deserve it.”
Having been part of both games as well as the live action series, Pierce tipped his hat off to the writing team of the series for its captivating storyline while being loyal to the source material.
He added that director Craig Mazin and creator Neil Druckmann could not have done a better job at adapting the video game experience into a television series.
“Because the games themselves are terrifying, it’s terrifying! Being in a basement with bloaters and clickers or stalkers or going through office buildings; it is absolutely terrifying.
“And the emotional experience of protecting Ellie, the experience of pursuing Abby in the second game. They are in some ways you can’t experience them through static audience members.
“So I think the triumphs have been in the writing, taking place in the gameplay and giving you the same experience. The Bill and Frank episode which sets up the emotional experiences for the rest of the season, I think was just a stroke of genius,” he said.
The Last of Us episode one to five is now available to stream on HBO GO with new episodes out every Monday at 10am.
