Who plays Ellie's mum in The Last of Us? Ashley Johnson joins cast

Before we had our hearts well and truly shattered, though, fans enjoyed a special appearance from the original Ellie, Ashley Johnson.

Showrunners Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann have made sure to honour the games throughout the series, whether it's keeping faithful to particular shots, considering whether dialogue from the games should be used in the show, or making use of the talented voice cast.

So far, we've seen appearances from the likes of Jeffrey Pierce, who played Tommy in the games and Perry in the show, Troy Baker, who played Joel in the games and James in the series, and Merle Dandridge, who played Marlene and was the only voice actor to reprise the same role for the show. Plus, who's to say who could appear in season 2?

For the finale episode though, fans were in for a very special appearance from Ellie voice actress Johnson, who played Ellie's mum Anna in the opening scenes.

Johnson has been open about how much it meant to her to appear in the series, telling RadioTimes.com and other press: "The fact that most of the cast of the game were asked to be in the show in some way means the world.

"I think every person that was in the game cared so deeply about the story we were telling. I couldn't believe they asked me to be in it! I really was so shocked, because it's not the norm."

Who is Ellie's mum Anna in The Last of Us?

In the games, not much is known about Ellie's mum Anna. We know that she was friends with Marlene and that she promised she'd take care of Ellie.

While Anna died days after Ellie's birth, she also wrote her a letter, telling her that "life is worth living".

For Johnson, that note was an essential way into the character. She told RadioTimes.com and other press: "The only thing we have about Ellie's mum [in the game] is her little note that she wrote. I had written that out and I put it in my pocket during the scenes just to have that little something from the game. We were able to do what we wanted with it, which was fun."

In the series, a heavily pregnant Anna is shown fleeing from infected before finding an abandoned house. With the infected coming ever closer, she's forced to deliver Ellie by herself.

Hours later, Marlene finds her and realises she's been bitten. Anna begs her to take care of Ellie and to shoot her. While Marlene initially refuses to kill Anna, after hearing her cries, she changes her mind, and takes Ellie away.

Marlene also references her promise to Anna during the hospital scene, explaining that she swore to take care of Ellie.

Who plays Ellie's mum in The Last of Us?

Actress Ashley Johnson portrays Anna in the television series The Last of Us.

Johnson is perhaps best known for playing Ellie in The Last of Us games. But she's had tons of other roles, including on TV shows and films.

She started out as a child actor, starring as Chrissy Seaver on the show Growing Pains, and in adult life has appeared on shows like The Killing and Blindspot.

On the big screen, she's featured in films like What Women Want, The Help, and Much Ado About Nothing.

Meanwhile, she's also an accomplished voice actor, voicing Gretchen Grundler in the children's series Recess, Terra in Teen Titans, Gwen Tennyson in Ben 10, and Renet Tilley in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

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