Young Mazino will play Jesse in HBO’s The Last of Us Season 2

Ellie’s ally to be portrayed by Emmy-nominated actor

HBO’s The Last of Us Season 2 will feature Young Mazino in the role of Jesse, Warner Bros. has revealed.

Jesse is a supporting character in The Last of Us Part 2 and can be played as in the No Return mode. He’s a friend of Ellie and, as the official description of the character puts it, “a pillar of his community who puts everyone else’s needs before his own, sometimes at terrible cost.”

Young Mazino is going to be Jesse / Charley Gallay (Getty Images)

Mazino has been nominated for a 2023 Primetime Emmy for his great supporting performance as Paul Cho in Netflix’s BEEF alongside Steven Yeun, which is now considered to be the 32-year-old's breakout role. He was known under his birth name, Christopher Young Kim, until 2018, but chose to go with a stage name when registering with the Screen Actors Guild during that year due to too many other actors having the same last name as him.

“Young is one of those rare actors who is immediately undeniable the moment you see him. We’re so lucky to have him, and we can’t wait for the audience to see Young shine in our show,” series co-creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann commented.

Yesterday, HBO announced the casting of Kaitlyn Dever as Abby, one of the pivotal characters in the upcoming story arcs and one that will surely prove to be controversial among viewers.

There are currently also rumors around a The Last of Us spin-off series that could dive into the story of the doomed lovers Bill and Frank, who were featured in one of the most popular episodes of the first season of the drama.

The Last of Us Part 2 split into multiple seasons