How Rutina Wesley transformed into Maria on ‘The Last of Us’

Rutina Wesley made her debut in episode 6 of HBO’s ‘The Last of Us’ on Sunday, playing Maria Miller, wife of Tommy Miller and Joel’s brother-in-law, who leads a thriving community in Jackson, Wyoming.

Maria is distrustful of Joel and his survival tactics, but takes a liking to Ellie, nurturing her as best as she can.

Wesley took a different approach to portraying the video game character. “It’s terrifying playing a character that’s been established, even though it’s a game,” she told Entertainment Weekly.

“But I also was up for the challenge of playing her in my way and putting my energy on it to see what people would think of that.”

Bringing a new angle to Maria

“Sometimes you can do an adaptation of something and it’s a copy of a copy. Sometimes it’s not so great,” Wesley continued. “But I felt here with The Last of Us, they really have had a chance to fly with these storylines, even if they altered them a bit, because it’s human people.”

Wesley revealed that she fell in love with the character, saying “I loved Maria, particularly because she’s a born leader,” and added: “She’s fierce and she has this calm stillness to her that I love. She’s the type of woman that I described like, if she smiles, you probably only see it with her eyes.”

The ‘Walking Dead’ actress also revealed how much her portrayal was affected by the video game.

“I researched some of the game but not too much. I wanted to be able to put my own spin on it,” she said in a Vulture interview. “[because] it was a game, I wanted to capture the essence of her. I didn’t want worrying about the game to affect my performance.”

She also found Maria’s nurturing nature refreshing, especially in a post-apocalyptic setting.

“[She’s] a mother-to-be and a nurturer. Usually when you see women who are fierce leaders, especially in an apocalyptic world where everyone is just trying to survive, you don’t see a lot of the vulnerability.”

Would Wesley return to play Maria?

‘The Last of Us’ was recently confirmed for a second season, and Wesley also confirmed she would love to reprise her version of Maria.

“Hell yes, I’m excited. I’m looking forward to something if they decide to come my way. I’m totally excited about that, because I did have fun playing with Gabe. He’s really great.”

Episode 7 of ‘The Last of Us’ will air February 26, 2023 on HBO Max at 9 PM EST/6 PM PST.