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Image Source: HBO

“We Value Performance Over Anything Else”: Why Kaitlyn Dever Didn’t Need to Bulk Up as Abby in HBO’s The Last of Us

Season 2 of HBO’s The Last of Us is set to premiere sometime in April, and we’ll see the introduction of Abby, a new key character in the story.

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Played by Kaitlyn Dever of Booksmart fame, fans were quick to point out that Dever didn’t quite have the same build as the video game version of Abby, who’s significantly more muscular and toned. The contrast is pretty stark, as Dever certainly looks a lot smaller than you’d expect Abby to look.

In an exclusive interview with Entertainment Weekly, series creator Neil Druckmann explained that when they were casting for the show, it was important that they cast an actor who really captured the essence of the character. While appearance is something that they’ll certainly consider, it’s not as high up on the priority list.

“We need someone to really capture the essence of those characters…. We don’t value as much, ‘Do they look exactly like the character with their eyebrows or their nose or their body?’ Whatever it is. It’s not nowhere on the priority list, but it’s below a bunch of other things that we consider.

We would’ve struggled to find someone as good as Kaitlyn to play this role. In the game, you have to play both characters [Ellie and Abby] and we need them to play differently. We needed Ellie to feel smaller and kind of maneuver around, and Abby was meant to play more like Joel in that she’s almost like a brute in the way she can physically manhandle certain things. That doesn’t play as big of a role in this version of the story because there’s not as much violent action moment to moment. It’s more about the drama. I’m not saying there’s no action here. It’s just, again, different priorities and how you approach it.”

Showrunner and director Craig Mazin also added that having a smaller actress play Abby could be interesting as well, as it’d give them the opportunity to explore a more physically vulnerable version of the character, while also maintaining her strong spirit.

HBO’s The Last of Us Season 2 is set to premiere on Max sometime in April, though a set release date has not yet been confirmed. Season 3 is also rumored to already be in pre-production.


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Author
Image of Zhiqing Wan
Zhiqing Wan
Associate Editor
Zhiqing is a History undergrad from the National University of Singapore. She started playing video games in 1996 when her dad introduced her to Metal Gear Solid, Silent Hill, and Resident Evil -- and the rest, as they say, is history. When she's not obsessing over Elden Ring and Dark Souls lore theories, you can find her singing along loudly and badly to Taylor Swift's latest bops. Formerly the Reviews Editor at Twinfinite, she joined the Escapist team in 2024. You can reach her at zhiqing@escapistmagazine.com.