Abby, Dina, Isaac & More

Every choice has consequences. After two years of a highly anticipated wait, the record-breaking Emmy award winning HBO series The Last of Us returns. 

Season 2 picks up five years after the events of the first season, which saw Joel (Pedro Pascal) massacre a team of medical doctors who were hoping to cure civilization from the zombie-like disease ravaging the surviving population. The only problem with this plan is that the cost of a potential vaccine came at the expense of fatally experimenting on the mysteriously immune Ellie (Bella Ramsey)—a price Joel wasn’t willing to pay. Now, as a result of their respective actions while searching for safety, Joel and Ellie will be forced to face repercussions from their individual pasts.

Some new faces will appear in Season 2 of The Last of Us, all of whom are from the video game. Kaitlyn Dever, Isabela Merced, Tati Gabrielle and more will bring these characters to life.

Read on to meet the new cast of this post-apocalyptic drama’s second installment, coming to HBO and Max April 13.

Abby Anderson (Kaitlyn Dever)

Kaitlyn Dever dons the role of the series’ most formidable antagonist, Abby Anderson. After losing her father, Dr. Jerry Anderson, at the hands of Joel, Abby sets off on a vengeful mission with a group of her military trained friends to find him.

Dever just appeared in Netflix’s Apple Cider Vinegar. She is most well known for the limited series Unbelievable, and she also appeared in Rosaline on Hulu. She also starred alongside Beanie Feldstein in Olivia Wilde’s directorial debut Booksmart (2019).

Dina (Isabela Merced)

Isabela Merced is Dina, a patrolman and member of the Jackson community. After breaking up with her boyfriend Jesse, she becomes the love interest of Ellie. After Abby causes problems for the Jackson community, Dina joins Ellie on a dangerous mission to track her down. 

Merced starred as Dora in Dora and the Lost City of Gold, Transformers: The Last Knight and Madame Web. She will also star as Hawkgirl in James Gunn’s Superman.

Jesse (Young Mazino)

Young Mazino stars as Jesse, a patrolman and member of the Jackson community.  He is also the ex-boyfriend of Dina, alongside being one of Ellie’s close friends. 

He is known for his role in Season 1 of Netflix’s Beef and being one of SZA’s love interests in her music video for “Snooze.”

Catherine O’Hara

Catherine O’Hara’s role has yet to be announced. Season 1 of The Last of Us saw surprise guest roles in both original characters and reprised characters from the game. Whoever O’Hara is playing regardless if it’s friend or foe is sure to be a treat. At the 2025 SXSW Film Festival, O’Hara’s costar Pedro Pascal talked up acting alongside her.

O’Hara is known for Schitt’s Creek, the Beetlejuice films and Home Alone.

Nora (Tati Gabrielle)

Tati Gabrielle takes on the role of a military medic named Nora. Taken under the wing of Abby’s father, as he tried to procure a vaccine to cure the cordyceps plague, Nora was present at the time Joel violently thwarted those plans.

Gabrielle has starred in the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and The 100. She will also helm the lead role in Naughty Dog’s upcoming sci-fi adventure game Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet.

Isaac (Jeffrey Wright)

In Season 2, Jeffrey Wright reprises his role from the video game as Isaac, the cunning leader of an anti-FEDRA militia group known as the Washington Liberation Front. He starts a war between a faction of religiously fervent survivors. 

Wright is most known for Westworld, The Batman, American Fiction and The French Dispatch.

Mel (Ariela Barer)

Ariela Barer plays Mel, a doctor and a close friend of Abby’s who also studied medicine and medical procedures under Abby’s father. After Joel disrupts the progress of finding a cure, Mel encourages Abby to set off and find Joel. 

You might know Barer from Marvel’s Runaways, How to Blow Up A Pipeline and Atypical.

Manny (Danny Ramirez)

Danny Ramirez plays Manny, a dedicated soldier to the Washington Liberation Front and former Firefly. He becomes a member of Abby’s group as they travel to Jackson, Wyoming. 

Ramirez’s latest roles include Captain America: Brave New World, Top Gun: Maverick and Black Mirror.

Owen (Spencer Lord)

Spencer Lord plays Owen, the former boyfriend of Abby, and like the rest of the gang he is a fellow member of the Washington Liberation Front. Though he starts dating Mel, he joins Abby in her quest to find Joel. 

You might have seen Lord in The Good Doctor or Season 4 of Riverdale.

RELATED: ‘The Last Of Us’ Season 2 Trailer: An Ominous Tone Lingers As Joel & Ellie’s Peace Is Fractured — Watch