Posted in: HBO, TV | Tagged: the last of us

The Last of Us: Josh Peck on His Cameo, Building Empathy in Roles

Josh Peck discusses his cameo as FEDRA soldier Janowitz in HBO's The Last of Us Season 2, the audition process, Jeffrey Wright, and more.

There is certainly no shortage of guest stars and cameos in HBO's The Last of Us, with Josh Peck joining among their ranks in the Kate Harron-directed episode "Day One," which aired on May 4th. Fans don't have to really dig deep as he appears in a flashback, serving as Isaac Dixon's (Jeffrey Wright) introduction. We get introduced to a squad from FEDRA, the fictional Federal Disaster Response Agency, with Peck's Janowitz among them, as they share stories of the front line discussing specific terminology for those they encountered, including hostiles they refer to as "voters." At a stop, Isaac steps out to talk to a local by the name of Hanrahan (Alanna Ubach) before he reveals his true nature as the leader of the Washington Liberation Front (WLF) and proceeds to take his squad out with a grenade. Peck spoke to Variety about his experience and his character's crude nickname.

Josh Peck Breaks Down His Very Un-Nickelodeon-like Cameo in HBO's 'The Last of Us'

Regarding joining the PlayStation game franchise-turned-HBO TV series, Peck compares The Last of Us to The Sopranos, which was also on the premium cable outlet, and AMC's Breaking Bad. "There isn't a single character on that show that could have been played by anyone else. That's how I feel with 'The Last of Us,'" Peck said. "I immediately fell in love with every character I was supposed to fall in love with, and I hated everyone I was supposed to hate."

Upon his experience filming his episode, "I feel very, very lucky to have been involved and to have been able to work with someone like Craig Mazin, who I've been a fan of for a long time. I don't think it's a coincidence that anything I've done that's been at a higher level, be it something like 'Oppenheimer' (2023) or this or when I've gotten the chance to work with great actors, it feels refreshingly easy because everything has been worked out," Peck said. "There are no holes in the script. Everyone is at the top of their game, and you feel excited to be a part of that team."

There isn't a better way to shed the child star image than what the Drake & Josh star had to say in his opening scene, finding his voice as Janowitz. "War can make people say and do things that they never thought they were capable of doing. It's important that you have empathy for your characters, even when they are despicable, because otherwise I don't really know how to humanize them," Peck said. "What gave me a great insight into this guy was I had to personalize the story in a way. Obviously, nothing in my life could ever match up to something this extreme and horrible, thankfully, but I could relate it to just telling my friends one of my favorite stories that still cracks me up. That was my entry point into how to personalize this thing, and strip it from the extreme nature of it, and just do what this guy is doing. He's talking to his co-workers, his friends, and telling a story that happens to be pretty terrible. Another good entry point is when he is confronted by his superior, the great Jeffrey Wright, he's hurt. He's like, 'Hey, man, this is my go-to story. Aren't we all on the same page here?' There were entry points in ways in which I could humanize it, even though what he's talking about is beyond my understanding."

You can check out the complete interview for more, including how Peck came up with his own backstory for Janowitz to help flesh out his character, his audition, and filming. The Last of Us airs Sundays on HBO and is available to stream on Max.

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