He had been raised in Utah by strict Mormon parents, who, following the official stance of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, strongly counseled against transitioning. Then Druckmann remembered watching the Netflix original series The OA, where he saw a young actor named Ian Alexander in the role of Buck Vu, a trans teen.Īt the time, Alexander was still in high school and coming into his own identity as a trans-masculine actor.
To fill the role, Naughty Dog reached out to several talent agencies in search of a young transgender actor, as well as organizations such as GLAAD. Hundreds of lines were recorded to account for every variable or potential outcome in the game. As a secondary character, Lev’s development is driven by AI, in reaction to what the player, as Abby, is doing. It’s also a challenging role for an actor. Photograph: Tracy NguyenĪuthenticity in representation was a key factor in bringing Lev to life. In Lev’s story, actor Ian Alexander saw many parallels to his own life: his religious upbringing, the rejection he suffered from his parents, how he shaved his head as an act of rebellion. Lev looks at his sister, then up at Abby-his head shaved, brow furrowed, mouth agape-unsure of whether he should cut Abby down, because her people have long been at war with his people, battling for control over Seattle in a postapocalyptic world ravaged by infection.
His voice is sharp, quick, high-pitched, and full of concern as he calls out his sister’s name, vaulting over a stone barricade with the ease of a 13-year-old boy, bow drawn, arrow nocked. He is swift and calculated, flitting between the trees in the dark like a spirit, or maybe even a small wild animal, to stay hidden and save his sister from a religious cult they’ve so desperately tried to escape from.Ībby-the antihero and divisive focus of the last half of the game-has been strung up by the neck and is within seconds of losing her life when she hears Lev for the first time. There is nothing subtle about Lev’s introduction. Before you meet Lev in The Last Of Us Part II, you see his arrow pierce the cheek of a man who’s about to strike Lev's sister Yara with a hammer.
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