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The Last of Us: Nico Parker Explains Why Sarah's Scenes Were Very Important


We already know that The Last of Us will be about Joel and Ellie. However, the premiere episode introduced what would be the first protagonist in Sarah Miller, expanding the character's minor role in the Naughty Dog video game. Not surprisingly, it took a lot of work to bring Joel's daughter to life, and Nico Parker discussed how she made sure Sarah's scenes in Episode 1 were treated properly.

In the first 33 minutes of The Last of Us Episode 1, the story unfolds from Sarah's point of view. Viewers got to watch the girl go about her day as the zombie apocalypse loomed all around her. In the episode, Nico Parker's performance was soft and charming, and losing her character was heartbreaking not just for Joel but for the audience as well.

So how did Nico Parker approach her role in Episode 1? The Dumbo star told Yahoo! Entertainment that while she relied on the script written by co-showrunner Craig Mazin, Parker also made sure that each moment was seen in a normal way.

"I think a lot of it, it’s in the writing. Craig, the wonderful writers. Craig’s a wonderful writer," she said.

"I think a lot of it was just there, I didn’t need to expand on it too much," Parker continued. "I feel like I didn’t want to treat it like every moment was the most important moment…because it’s the beginning, you’re seeing a way more regular version of life. And I didn’t want it to feel like this, ‘Oh, but you just wait till what happens!’ I wanted it to feel like a day-to-day."

She added, "And when it got to the more…emotional, stressful scenes, I think I just wanted to try and treat them, again, as if…even if you’re filming something you’ve been filming for the past 4 days, I wanted everything that you’re seeing, you’re seeing for the first time…. I wanted it to be obvious in everything that we were filming and doing."

Needless to say, it worked so well that fans were absolutely heartbroken as soon as Sarah is killed halfway through the episode. We're certainly glad that Parker knew exactly what she was doing.

The Last of Us Episode 1 is now streaming on HBO Max.

Related: The Last of Us Episode 1 Last Moments Were An Emotional Change From The Game

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