'The Last of Us' star Young Mazino on Jesse, the show's 'gentle monster'

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This communicative contains spoilers for Episode 5 of “The Last of Us” Season 2.

Jesse is angry. He besides has impeccable timing.

Just arsenic Ellie (Bella Ramsey) and Dina (Isabela Merced) find themselves cornered by galore infected wrong an abandoned warehouse successful the latest occurrence of “The Last of Us,” their reliable person Jesse arrives successful the nick of clip to prevention them.

But mutant fungal zombies are not the lone roaming menace successful the satellite successful HBO’s postapocalyptic thriller, and the trio instantly find themselves trying to evade attacks from the section militia arsenic good arsenic a mysterious cult.

Over a mates of video calls — including 1 successful which helium was surrounded by what looked similar the lush earthy satellite of the amusement — histrion Young Mazino discussed his quality Jesse’s rescue ngo to Seattle arsenic good arsenic however “The Last of Us” has further propelled his rising illustration successful Hollywood. As for what happens successful Episode 5, Mazino sums up the usually laid-back Jesse’s feelings arsenic Ellie and Dina capsicum him with questions astir his unexpected arrival: “He’s pissed.”

“He’s truly pissed disconnected that they’re determination to statesman with,” Mazino says successful a video call. “He knows the stakes. He knows however superior it tin get. There’s a batch of s— connected his caput but … for him, it’s astir getting everyone to safety, surviving and past the emotions travel later. Then we tin hash it out.”

A patrol coordinator successful their Jackson, Wyo., settlement, Jesse has an connected again, disconnected again narration with Dina — “a situationship,” arsenic Mazino calls it. After the horde of infected attacked Jackson, helium became a subordinate of the assembly that leads the community.

Young Mazino looks angrily up with his arms crossed successful beforehand of him

Mazino describes Jesse arsenic “a beauteous happy-go-lucky guy” successful the earlier episodes of the season, arsenic good arsenic “a spot of a Boy Scout.” But arsenic audiences spot successful Episode 5, he’s besides a susceptible combatant proficient successful firearms and equipped with cardinal endurance skills. Mazino says co-star Gabriel Luna (who plays Tommy) joked that Jesse is simply a “gentle monster.”

“I couldn’t hold more,” says Mazino. “For these radical to past up to that point, you bash person to person a spot of that savagery and beryllium capable to crook that on. It’s conscionable a substance of being capable to power it backmost off.”

Much similar Jesse, Mazino exudes a quiet, gentle tone done the surface of a video call. He references the stories of Anton Chekhov, the creator doctrine of Pablo Picasso and anime similar “Jujutsu Kaisen.” (“If ‘Vinland Saga’ existed successful this world, Jesse would truly f— with that manga” due to the fact that of its themes, Mazino says.) He’s arsenic crippled to sermon a imagination blunt rotation among the Jackson assemblage members arsenic helium is to contemplate the Asian diaspora successful a postapocalyptic world.

“He’s truthful chill and mellow,” Ramsey says of her castmate. “I got to cognize him rather good and he’s truthful perceptive and truthful thoughtful astir everything. I consciousness truly fortunate to person gotten to cognize him much than conscionable the chill, mellow feline that everyone sees connected the surface.”

The respect is mutual. Mazino calls Ramsey “an bonzer individual” whose enactment ethic is No. 1 connected the telephone sheet. One vivid memory: lasting underneath immoderate PVC pipes with Ramsey connected acceptable and enjoying a infinitesimal successful artificial rainfall together.

“I was soggy and bedewed each time for hours connected end,” Mazino says of filming the show’s Seattle-set episodes. “And arsenic soon arsenic you’re astir to dry, they bedewed you down again. What helps is having idiosyncratic similar Bella Ramsey, who maintains this levity. So contempt being bedewed and soggy and miserable each day, being miserable with idiosyncratic that’s conscionable arsenic miserable and bedewed arsenic you truly helps.”

“The Last of Us” marks Mazino’s highest-profile task yet. After years of trying to marque it arsenic an actor, Mazino got his breakout role successful the 2023 constricted bid “Beef,” wherever helium portrays a slacker who falls for his older brother’s road-rage nemesis. His show earned him an Emmy nomination.

His familiarity with “The Last of Us” initially stemmed from watching YouTube videos of the game’s communicative scenes. But earlier gathering showrunners Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann for the project, Mazino bought a utilized PlayStation 4 to play done the cardinal moments of Jesse’s story.

Young Mazino looks astatine the level portion standing

“When I told Craig I played done the crippled hoping helium would beryllium pleasantly surprised, helium was like, ‘I privation you really didn’t play the crippled astatine all,’” Mazino says.

Preparation for the relation included going “crazy astatine the gym for a fewer months,” Mazino says. He besides received weapons grooming and learned to thrust a horse.

“I’ve been connected galore sets successful the past 10 years and I’m alert of however uncommon this benignant of accidental is,” Mazino says. “My anticipation for penning and storytelling became precise precocious aft ‘Beef,’ and I wasn’t definite if I’d beryllium capable to find thing to lucifer that. But ‘The Last of Us’ came my mode and I emotion getting to research antithetic facets of myself done character.”

Jesse has a brushed spot for Ellie, whom helium initially meets arsenic a prickly outsider chopped from akin cloth, Mazino says. Both are loners who’d alternatively debar the spotlight — peculiarly astatine parties. But Jesse besides recognizes Ellie’s interior occurrence and potential.

“Jesse finds Ellie truthful absorbing and amusing and endearing,” Mazino says. “To beryllium this small, petite miss and person truthful overmuch vitriol and occurrence and angst. I deliberation Jesse wants to assistance Ellie harness each that aggravated vigor that she has and enactment it to bully use.”

The brace besides stock an attraction to Dina, who is simply a spot much societal and lukewarm and seemingly carefree. And though Jesse did not look to caput Ellie and Dina sharing a drunken buss astatine a enactment successful an earlier episode, the couple’s relationship has since grown much romanticist and intimate.

Mazino believes Jesse has been afloat alert that Ellie and Dina person been dancing astir their feelings for each other.

“I deliberation Jesse’s the benignant of idiosyncratic that understands that emotion is love, and it’s not thing you tin cage oregon latch connected to,” Mazino says. “I deliberation the steadfast signifier of emotion is to let it to flourish. .… Love is simply a spectrum … and possibly helium recognizes that Dina is not idiosyncratic helium whitethorn needfully privation to beryllium exclusively with everlastingly together. But determination is love.”

Mazino insists that Jesse cares little astir Ellie and Dina’s processing romance than helium does the information that Dina has followed her person into a warfare zone.

“Love eludes communal consciousness and rationality a batch truthful he’s conscionable trying to beryllium the level-headed 1 done and through,” says Mazino.

Young Mazino and Bella Ramsey thin against a antagonistic astatine a enactment successful "The Last of Us"

Jesse intelligibly opposes the Ellie revenge circuit that has brought them to Seattle, and Mazino says their differing philosophies stem from Jesse’s appreciation for the assemblage of Jackson. Because helium was capable to find a location successful Jackson, Jesse’s effect to nonaccomplishment is to drawback onto what remains.

“I deliberation helium serves arsenic a cleanable reflector disconnected of [Ellie for] however 1 copes with decease and execution and violence,” Mazino says. “Some people, each they spot is reddish and they privation the revenge. But the different broadside of that prime is savoring what’s remaining and what’s precious to you.”

Ellie, helium adds, is “all astir revenge, revenge, revenge for idiosyncratic she lost. But Jesse wants the other of that. He wants to support what they inactive have, knowing however fleeting it is to beryllium live successful this world.”

While the satellite of “The Last of Us” is bleak, Mazino and his castmates recovered ways betwixt takes to flight the heaviness. One signifier of relief: a shared emotion of music. Mazino, Luna, Merced and Ramsey each play guitar.

“We each brought a guitar without adjacent telling each other,” Mazino says. “There was ever a guitar connected acceptable oregon we would bargain 1 from the acceptable and get successful trouble. We’d person jam sessions. Somebody would beryllium playing immoderate tune oregon a song, and if we knew it, we articulation successful [or] we’d larn it.”

Mazino says that they each had eclectic tastes and traded songs “like Pokémon.” (Mazino’s contributions included Daniel Caesar, Frank Ocean and “some R&B stuff.”)

“It’s truthful hard to support a dense vigor for 12 to 16 hours a day,” helium says. “It truly helps to person radical that are capable to laughter and ace jokes and beryllium airy and to play euphony … truthful a guitar is simply a lifesaver connected a acceptable similar that.”