Home TV News Nick Offerman Was Not the First Choice to Play Bill in The Last of Us, According to Co-Creator Craig Mazin

The HBO hit series co-creator reveals they almost went a different direction with casting Bill for The Last of Us.

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After two successful first episodes, The Last of Us was unsurprisingly renewed for a second season. However, nobody expected the third chapter of the series to be so critically acclaimed, making the show a global hit. Part of the reason for the episode’s success is thanks to Nick Offerman’s performance as Bill, although he nearly didn’t get the part for the now iconic character.

Last week’s episode of the excellent adaptation of the popular video game strayed far from the source material to go deeper into character development and gave the fans an emotional and tender love story in the midst of a collapsing apocalyptic world. Offerman and his co-star Murray Bartlett turned their characters, Bill and Frank, into two emblems of LGBT romance, with memorable performances that delighted audiences.
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Although, apparently, the Parks and Recreation star was not the first choice to bring the famous character to life. According to series co-creator Craig Mazin, they wanted another actor for the role, as he revealed on The Last of Us Podcast:

Initially, the role of Bill was going to be played by Con O’Neill, who played Bryukhanov in Chernobyl. And he wasn’t able, ultimately he couldn’t do it because he was on Our Flag Means Death, which is another HBO show, which is very funny if you haven’t seen it. So we couldn’t do it with Con. And that’s when the idea of Nick came around.

Related: Nick Offerman Hasn’t Played The Last of Us, Swore Off Video Games After Banjo-Kazooie

What’s Next on The Last of Us?

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Heading out from Bill and Frank’s after episode 3 with a new set of wheels, Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) are now on a quest to find Joel’s brother, Tommy, who might know the location of the Fireflies facility out west that Ellie needs to reach.

In “Please Hold My Hand,” they end up lost in a city, which leads them to be ambushed by a group of violent survivors who will not be kind to the protagonists, with Joel doing everything he can in order to protect Ellie even though their relationship still seems a little rough.

The episode will also introduce a new character, written specifically for the series and played by Melanie Lynskey. The Yellowjackets star plays Kathleen, the leader of the group of survivors who controls the Kansas City area and seems to have no tolerance for outsiders.