Joel Miller is a fictional character in the American post-apocalyptic drama television series, The Last of Us, which is based on The Last of Us video game franchise developed by Naughty Dog. He is portrayed by Pedro Pascal in the series.
Joel became a seasoned survivor in a post-apocalyptic America after losing his only daughter, Sarah, in the early phases of the Cordyceps brain virus pandemic. Before being assigned the responsibility of smuggling and protecting a 14-year-old girl called Ellie Williams, who appeared to have the secret to developing a vaccine, he made his name as a black market smuggler in the quarantine area of Boston.
Who is Joel in The Last of Us?
Joel Miller is a main character in the series portrayed by the American and Chilean actor Pedro Pascal. He is a middle-aged veteran survivor who is tormented by the pain of his past. Joel's job is to sneak Ellie, a little child, across the United States and out of a quarantine zone. In the series, Joel is more physically weakened than in the game; he has hearing loss in one ear and experiences knee pain when standing.
Joel’s background in The Last of Us
Joel Miller was born on September 26, 1967. He was raised in Austin, Texas, alongside Tommy Miller, his younger brother. Joel's love for music began in his early years, and he aspired to be a well-known singer. However, once his brother left the US military, he and Tommy eventually worked as contractors. Sarah Miller, Joel's daughter, was born when he was 21. He worked long hours to make a living while raising her with his brother's help.
Joel Miller in the video game The Last of Us
Joel Miller is a character from Naughty Dog's video game series The Last of Us. He is played by Troy Baker through motion capture and voice acting. Joel is the main protagonist in the first game, The Last of Us (2013), where he must guide the young Ellie across a post-apocalyptic America to develop a possible treatment for a sickness that Ellie is immune to. Additionally, he briefly appears in the 2014 downloadable content campaign The Last of Us: Left Behind. Ellie seeks retribution after Joel is killed in The Last of Us Part II (2020) by Abby, a woman whose father he killed in the first game.
Who plays Joel in The Last of Us series?
Pedro Pascal, an American and Chilean actor, plays the character of Joel Miller in the series. The actor gained popularity when he portrayed Oberyn Martell in the fourth season of HBO’s Game of Thrones after playing several small parts on stage and television. His performance in the Netflix crime series Narcos (2015–2017) as Javier Peña brought him even more notoriety. He subsequently made appearances in the movies Triple Frontier (2019), Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017), The Equalizer 2 (2018), and The Great Wall (2016).
Pascal gained international fame thanks to his significant appearances as Joel Miller in the HBO post-apocalyptic drama series The Last of Us (2023–present) and Din Djarin in the Disney+ science fiction series The Mandalorian (2019–2023). He won multiple awards for his performance in The Last of Us, including a Screen Actors Guild Award and a Primetime Emmy and Golden Globe nominations.
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FAQs about Joel in The Last of Us
A. Ellie is 19 years old when Joel dies in the video game franchise, The Last of Us.
A. There is no information about Joel’s wife or what happened to her in the video game franchise or the series.
A. Joel was between his 20s and 30s when his daughter Sarah died.
