Nick Offerman has reflected on his first time reading the script for the revered third episode of The Last of Us and making a quick prediction about its impact.
The actor starred in one episode of the dystopian, video game-based series, which aired on HBO and Sky Atlantic earlier this year.
Titled “Long, Long Time”, the episode starred Offerman as a survivalist named Bill who, at the start of a brutal apocalypse, captures an intruder named Frank in one of his traps. After Bill allows him to stay for dinner, they then begin a beautiful 20-year romance.
Since its airing, the episode has widely been considered one of the best hours of television in recent years. The Independent’s Jacob Stolworthy described the episode as a “masterclass”.
In a new interview with The Guardian, Offerman spoke about his first reaction to the script.
After reading the part, he said he “knew it was going to be trouble”, and quickly shared it with his wife, fellow actor Megan Mulally, for her opinion.
“There was nothing to do but to ask Megan to read it,” he explained. “Because my options were either to say: ‘Honey, I just read a very good script that’s going to screw up the calendar for a month’, or say, ‘Will you please read this and let me know what you think?’
“She read it and said: ‘Sorry buddy, you’re going to Calgary to shoot this show.’”
Later in the interview, published on Sunday (11 June), he praised the way that the episode was produced as “like making a Sundance movie. It was treated by the entire production [crew] like the exquisite hit that it became”.
Offerman also shared his surprise at the level of praise and fan appreciation the show received, saying he was “quite taken aback at the Game of Thrones-level tsunami of approbation. Megan said she was going to start calling me ‘Episode Three Offerman’.”
Previously, the 52-year-old actor gave some insight into the process of creating the episode’s “arduous” action sequences.
The Last of Us has been renewed for a second season and in April, the shooting location of the forthcoming episodes was revealed.
