The Last of Us: Isabela Merced on Playing Dina and Her ‘Amazing Experience’ with the Game

The HBO series The Last of Us has been making waves with its post-apocalyptic drama, and now, actress Isabela Merced is set to join the cast as Dina, Ellie’s love interest. In a recent interview, Merced opened up about her experience playing the game and working with co-star Bella Ramsey.

“I have been a fan of the series,” Merced said. “I actually hadn’t played the game until I found out about me potentially being in it, but I only played the second game and that was such an experience. I had a lot of fun. People say, ‘How did you have fun playing it? It’s a very sad story.’ But it’s just so well-made. When you see the Bloaters, your heart starts racing, your hands are all sweaty, and you can barely hold onto the controller. It’s just an amazing experience. I consider anything that makes my heart rate go up to be a fun experience, so I enjoyed it. Great work from Neil Druckmann.”

A heart-pumping experience

Merced’s comments about the terrifying Bloaters will resonate with just about anyone who’s played The Last of Us games. It’s clear that she’s one of us - a true gamer at heart.

Casting and Chemistry

Merced revealed that she didn’t audition for the role; Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann had her in mind for Dina and approached her about being in the series. “I have to say they offered it to me, which is crazy coming out of my mouth,” Merced recalled. “Neil and Craig had reached out to my team and they said, ‘We wanna meet with her for The Last of Us?’ And my team was like, ‘Hey, for what role?’ And they didn’t specify. They just said, ‘Have her watch the game on YouTube.’ And I was like, ‘I wanna play the game.’ And then, we had a meeting and they proposed it at the meeting.”

Isabela Merced

Merced’s chemistry with co-star Bella Ramsey was evident from the first day. “I’m so excited for people to see my chemistry with Bella,” she said. “Bella and I have so much chemistry. From the first day, it was there. There’s no work to be done. I really respect Bella. I just saw Catherine Called Birdy and Bella has such range and just an honesty about their work. I’m learning so much. I’m very honored to be here.”

Bella Ramsey

Filming continues on The Last of Us season 2, and we can’t wait to see Merced and Ramsey bring Dina and Ellie’s relationship to life.