Hot off of “Beef” sweeping Monday night’s Primetime Emmy Awards across limited series categories, breakout star and Emmy nominee Young Mazino is looking ahead to his next hit project: “The Last of Us” Season 2.
“I feel like I’ve been riding this wave ever since ‘Beef,’ and it just keeps on going,” Mazino told TheWrap on the awards ceremony’s red carpet. “I’m still surfing, like, ‘Damn this is a long-ass wave.’”
Mazino’s performance as Paul Cho, the younger brother of Steven Yeun’s Danny in the Netflix dramedy, must have caught the attention of “The Last of Us” boss Craig Mazin, who announced Wednesday that Mazino would costar as Jesse in the HBO drama’s anticipated second season.
“I was a big fan of the show and the game, separately,” Mazino said. “Craig Mazin, the showrunner, he’s an amazing writer.”
In the second season of the Naughty Dog video game adaptation at HBO, which is slated to begin production on Feb. 12, Jesse is described as “a pillar of his community who puts everyone else’s needs before his own, sometimes at terrible cost.”
“When I was watching ‘Last of Us,’ I didn’t know about Jesse because I only briefly [played] the … first game,” Mazino continued. “I realized there was a really cool role in that.”
While the first season of “The Last of Us,” which stars Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey as Joel and Ellie, takes place 20 years after modern civilization has been destroyed, the second installment takes place five years later as it follows the events of “The Last of Us: Part II” video game.
Mazino joined newly cast Season 2 players Kaitlyn Dever, who will star as Abby, as well as Isabela Merced, who will star as Dina.
“Young is one of those rare actors who is immediately undeniable the moment you see him,” cocreators Mazin and Neil Druckmann said in a joint statement at the time of his casting. “We’re so lucky to have him, and we can’t wait for the audience to see Young shine in our show.”
Watch Mazino’s interview with TheWrap in the video embed above.
