Every actor from The Last of Us games who appeared on the show (and who they played)

5. Ashley Johnson (Ellie) as Anna

The season finale of The Last of Us begins with a cold open that never appeared in the video games, where we see Ellie’s mother Anna give birth to her while fighting off an infected. And it’s here we get what could be one of the coolest cameos of all: Anna is played by none other than Ashley Johnson, who portrayed Ellie in both The Last of Us video games.

We never learned much about Anna in the video game, or how Ellie’s immunity came about. The show tackles these topics head on, showing us how Anna was bitten while giving birth. It also gives us an important moment between her and Marlene, establishing how long these two have known each other and why Marlene was keeping an eye on Ellie even before discovering her immunity.

This scene is laden with easter eggs. The farmhouse where Anna takes shelter is a nod to an important setting in The Last of Us Part II. In the game, Ellie’s only mementos of her mom are her switchblade and a letter she wrote before her death; we see Anna pass these on in the show. Johnson revealed on The Last of Us Podcast that she even wrote out Anna’s letter herself. The fact that both Johnson and Dandridge worked on the original The Last of Us game together adds a whole extra layer to their characters’ interactions.

Ashley Johnson’s Ellie is arguably one of the most well-known characters in video games. In the TV show the character is played to perfection by Bella Ramsey. Bringing in Johnson to play her mother was a beautiful way to pass the torch.