The incredible actor behind Naughty Dog’s Lev talks about where he sees the character in a possible future title and how his own struggles in life are similar to Lev’s.
Even if you haven’t played The Last of Us Part 2, you will, undoubtedly, know of what the game entails as well as how overwhelmingly controversial it became. The outrage and unjustified discourse that arose in some “gamers” turned toxicity to a brand new level but in the end, nothing could take away from the important topics that ran like a raging river through TLOU2‘s narrative.
The Last of Us Part II – Official Launch Trailer | PS4
When we first set eyes on Lev, a former member of the Seraphites, he was rescuing his sister Yara from the grips of impending death. From that moment on, Lev became one of the most loved characters throughout the title and the surprising friendship he struck up with Abby, the game’s anti-hero, quickly became one forged from the fragments of loss, grief and love.
Ian Alexander, the actor who brings every inch of life to Lev, recently spoke in an interview with Wired in which he disclosed how he was able to tap into his own experience as a trans person and how difficult it was for him at the beginning so, in turn, he was able to offer his own real-life struggles to Lev.
“Stepping into that role, I definitely was able to pull from my own experiences, the traumas I endured at such a young age, going back into that 13-year-old headspace of figuring things out and trying to figure out how the world works and trying to learn about the world and learn about people and learn about myself,”
Alexander draws similarities between his own strictly religious family and how lonely he felt to that of Lev’s experience as a member of the Seraphites. When offered the role as Lev, Alexander was still attending high school whilst also coming to terms with who he truly is. His parents were a part of the Mormon community in Utah and, of course, they had very strong beliefs in place about who he should be.
“I grew up in a very sheltered and religious environment, so I didn’t really meet other LGBTQ people that I could see myself in,” he says. When Alexander eventually plucked up the courage to tell his parents that he was trans, and just like Lev, he wasn’t accepted for who he was. “They didn’t take it very well, and that was something that really shaped who I am to this day.”
For fans who have been wondering, like I have, about how Lev gets on with his life after he sails off with Abby on a boat at the end of The Last of Us Part 2, Alexander has his opinions too on how Lev’s life will turn out if there’s a sequel.
“I think [Lev] will find a lot of that chosen family, in a way that can help him heal from that wound of losing Yara in such a traumatic way and losing his mother in such a traumatic way and his whole community from childhood. I think Lev has a very bright future.”
Whilst speaking on an episode of the Script Apart podcast surrounding the narrative and plot of The Last of Us Part 2, Druckmann let fans know that a Part 3 to the title isn’t out of the question and an outline for it has been done.
“I don’t know how much I want to reveal and I did write an outline for a story, that we’re not making” Druckmann continues “but I hope one day can see the light of day – that explores a little bit what happens after this game. We’ll see.”
The post The Last of Us Part 2 Actor Reveals Hopes for Lev’s Future and How He Identifies With the Character by Rachael Fiddis appeared first on DualShockers.