His face, of course, is not unknown to you. Before appearing in Episode 6 of The Last of Us, Rutina Wesley played Tara, the best friend of heroine Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin) on True Blood for 7 seasons. But he also directed Ava DuVernay’s own series, Queen Sugar, and we can meet him in other productions such as Hannibal, Arrow or The Walking Dead.
In The Last of Us, she plays Maria, the wife of Tom (Gabriel Luna) and thus the sister-in-law of Joel (Pedro Pascal). the actor told Entertainment Weekly that accepting this role was terrifying for him.
It’s scary to play an established character, even if it’s in the game, but I also wanted to challenge myself to play it my way and put all my energy into it to see what people think.
In episode 6 we discover this character who is not only a “wife”, Maria is also the head of the colony where Joel finally finds his brother Tommy after losing contact for a long time. Maria and Tom are married and have a baby on the way. For Rutina Wesley, it’s her pregnancy that explains why her character is particularly interested in Ellie (Bella Ramsey).
“As she is ready to become a mother, I think she naturally reaches out to Ellie in a motherly way without even realizing it.– says the actor.It’s his instinct, he can’t do anything about it. I also think that Maria will be challenged by Eli in a way that she secretly likes. I think part of Maria looks at Ellie and wonders, “Who is that little girl?”“.
Rutina Wesley as Maria
A character he loved to play
There are several notable differences between Maria and her character in the video games. He loves Tom, but is immediately suspicious of his brother, knowing Joel’s dark past in the Boston Quarantine Zone. We learn that he was an assistant district attorney in Omaha before the epidemic, and that he was democratically elected by the people of that colony to fill the position of leader.
“I adored Maria, especially because she is a born leader– explains the actor.She’s fierce and has a quiet strength about her that I love. She is the type of woman I would describe as: if she smiles, you can probably just see it in her eyes. He’s not going to smile at you on the red carpet.“
“It’s great to see a woman of this caliber who is so good with a gun. He knows how to ride a horse. He knows his stuff, and he’ll still take this kid, cut his hair, and get to know himWesley adds.I like this juxtaposition because sometimes you think people in this leadership position don’t have each other’s skills, and he’s very capable.“
Maria’s character is well represented in The Last of Us Part II, and since HBO has officially ordered a second season, Rutina Wesley hopes that she will be a part of it.
“I’m totally excited about it because I enjoyed playing with Gabe. He is really awesome“, he added.That would be just the icing on the cake.“
Source: Allocine
Camila Luna is a writer at Gossipify, where she covers the latest movies and television series. With a passion for all things entertainment, Camila brings her unique perspective to her writing and offers readers an inside look at the industry. Camila is a graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a degree in English and is also a avid movie watcher.
