Murray Bartlett “Hoped And Prayed” For His Role On ‘The Last Of Us’ — Deadline FYC House + HBO Max
Emmy Award-winning actor Murray Bartlett made a surprise appearance at the Deadline FYC House event on Friday to discuss his critically acclaimed guest performance on HBO’s record-breaking drama, The Last of Us.
Bartlett costars alongside Nick Offerman in the third episode of the post-apocalyptic series, titled “Long, Long Time,” which debuted earlier this year on January 29. Named after the lovelorn ballad sung by ’70s icon Linda Ronstadt, the equally as tender episode follows the decades-long relationship between a hardened survivalist named Bill (Offerman) and a kind-hearted stranger named Frank (Bartlett), who fall in love and live out their lives together amidst the collapsed world.
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The 75-minute episode, written by co-creator and showrunner Craig Mazin and directed by Peter Hoar, set the internet ablaze and garnered a lot of praise for Offerman and Bartlett on their visceral and career-defining performances.
On the red carpet, Bartlett told Deadline that he drew inspiration for his performance in The Last of Us partially from his own relationship with his partner, Matt.
“Our relationship was a bit of a reference point for what [Nick Offerman] and I were doing in the episode,” he said. “Because I was saying this to Nick, that we are both lucky to be in relationships where we found a partner that we have an incredible bond with, and we feel this deep love. So, we were familiar with that, and we could bring that experience to what we were doing in episode three.”
When asked if Bartlett’s partner had any particular reaction after seeing the episode, Bartlett joked that not much was outwardly expressed, but they had a sense of understanding between them about how Bartlett channeled his sensitivities in love on set. “There was this sort of understanding of like, ‘You know where I get that from, right?’ and ‘Would you do that for me? Because….’ Which was lovely.” he laughed.
During the panel discussion, Bartlett, also shared his own first impressions of the role upon receiving the script.
“I was blown away, I don’t think at that point I had the full script, but I had these three scenes, I think, that were pieces from different parts of the episode. And already I could see this incredible relationship, this sort of vignette, that [showed] so much of the relationship [as it] passed through time. I was just blown away by it,” he said.
“So then, I was like, ‘I want this job.’ Also, because I was a huge fan of Chernobyl, one of the best pieces of television, so, I was super excited to be a part of this game that people love so deeply and work with this man who created Chernobyl that I loved so deeply from afar. I just hoped and prayed they’d let me be a part of it.”
As for working with the prolific comedic actor as his faux post-apocalyptic husband, Bartlett explained how Offerman’s levity was just the right touch for such a harrowing story. “He’s always funny; he’s always got a twinkle in his eye,” he said. “That giggle that you hear in the show is a Nick Offerman giggle. We had a lot of fun; Nick is such a good person and such a gentleman through and through and just an old-school guy that cares about all the things you want someone to care about.
“It was a joy working with Nick, and he was very funny between takes—not like he was doing a stand-up routine—but just that twinkle in the eye and a very dry sense of humor, which was a lovely contrast to some of the scenes we were doing.”
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