If you need a The Last of Us episode 6 recap, the latest episode of the horror series finally introduced a key character from the videogame: Maria. Played by Rutina Wesley, Maria is the leader of a commune in Jackson, Wyoming, and is expecting a child with her husband, Tommy – who also happens to be Joel‘s brother.
With Maria having a big role in both parts of The Last of Us videogame, Wesley spoke to Entertainment Weekly about how she felt taking on the role. “It’s terrifying playing a character that’s been established, even though it’s a game,” she said. “But I also was up for the challenge of playing her in my way and putting my energy on it to see what people would think of that.”
“Sometimes you can do an adaptation of something and it’s a copy of a copy. Sometimes it’s not so great,” she added. “But I felt here with The Last of Us, they really have had a chance to fly with these storylines, even if they altered them a bit, because it’s human people.”
Expressing her love for the character, Wesley added. “I loved Maria, particularly because she’s a born leader. She’s fierce and she has this calm stillness to her that I love. She’s the type of woman that I described like, if she smiles, you probably only see it with her eyes. She’s not gonna give you full-blown Rutina red carpet teeth.”
She continued, “It’s great to see a woman of that kind of stature who is very good with a gun. She can ride a horse. She knows her way around this place and yet she’s taking this child [Ellie] and cutting their hair and getting to know them. I love the juxtaposition of that because sometimes you think people in that position as a leader are not capable of the other, and she’s very capable.”
As the TV series continues to gather pace, here’s what you need to know about The Last of Us characters, cordyceps, the Fireflies, the infected, clickers, bloaters, and FEDRA. You can stream all episodes of The Last of Us on HBO Max in the US and NOW TV in the UK.