The Last of Us actor Jeffrey Pierce, famous for voicing Tommy in video games, revealed an explosive detail: Mahershala Ali was in talks to play Joel in the TV series.

During an interview with The Direct, the actor said, "I think initially they had talked to Mahershala Ali about playing Joel, which is an obvious cue that I'm not gonna play Tommy.

And when they cast Pedro [Pascal], I knew like, yeah, that was certainly not going to happen regardless, I'm older than Pedro Pascal. So I was not harbouring any illusions about that, for sure." he added.

However, Tommy in the show is essayed by Gabriel Luna, but Pierce does appear as an ally of Kathleen in the fourth episode.

On his role in the TV adaptation, Pierce said: "I told [co-showrunner Neil Druckmann] early on, I was like, look, I'll come and carry a spear and stand in the corner if there's anything that I can do to help support telling the story of the game – you know, count me in.

"And the fact that it turned into Perry is kind of one of those [laughs]. He sent me the scripts and I read him. I was like, 'Oh shit, this is gonna be so much fun'. He is one of the most lovely, talented, decent human beings going, and he is so good at his job that when he hands you writing, you just know how to make it fly. And this was one of those moments," he added.