The actress leaned into her own personal loss to better understand Abby for Season 2

How Kaitlyn Dever Channeled Her Own Grief Into Her TLOU Performance

The actress leaned into her own personal loss to better understand Abby for Season 2

While some fans were critical of her casting, Dever said that fear of backlash never factored into her decision to take the role. "I would've never not done it because of the fear of reading the internet," she continued, but admitted she at least looked at reviews at the beginning of the season. "I'm human, so I can't help but look at those things." Yet the support she received from the crew gave her a sense of safety. “In Season 2, I felt so taken care of,” she shared. That, along with the audience's positive response to the season, has left her excited for what's ahead in Season 3: "It's pure excitement to be part of such a cool show."

Dever's performance was further fueled by personal tragedy. She began filming shortly after the loss of her mother, channeling that grief directly into Abby's emotional arc. "I still felt like I was doing The Last of Us for her," she said. The emotional parallels between Abby's journey and her own deepened her portrayal and connection to the role.

"She thinks that [what she did to Joel] will make her feel better…and she doesn't. She’s just as broken as everybody else on this show...And gosh, it's so loaded and so heavy, but I think she also internalizes all of these emotions, and I think that that is what makes her such a strong person. It's just how much she's had to go through, how much she’s seen in her life, and how she perseveres and how she pushes through and keeps going. But again, that's not that different from a lot of the other characters in this story."

The Last of Us earned 16 total Emmy nominations ahead of the September 14 award ceremony, including nods for Bella Ramsey, Geoffrey Wright, Catherine O'Hara, and even Pedro Pascal in a Lead category--despite only appearing in three episodes. Although Season 3 is greenlit, Dever's co-star Ramsey confirmed that they have not read any scripts nor confirmed when shooting will begin.

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This story originally appeared on: GameSpot - Author:UK GAG