Kaitlyn Dever, the actress portraying Abby Anderson in the second season of HBO’s The Last of Us adaptation, required extra security during filming for her own protection.
This comes from fellow castmate Isabel Merced, who is playing Dina in the show. Speaking with Josh Horowitz on Happy Sad Confused, Merced discussed the strong emotions the series can spark within some that have resulted in volatile reactions from so-called fans.
When Horowitz said he was concerned about Dever, and the toxicity she will likely receive “through proxy of being Abby”, Merced stated there are “so many strange people” who “genuinely hate” the character. This is despite her being completely fictional. And, because of this, Dever was required to have extra security during the filming for the second season.
While not giving away any spoilers as to why this character has been met with so much hatred, Merced said Dever is “such a cool person who just does not get phased by things”, and is already deserving of an Emmy for her portrayal.
“I am so excited for people to see how incredibly well Bella [Ramsey, who plays Ellie] and Kaitlyn did on this,” the actress said. “I’m so excited.”
Dever is of course not the first actress to play Abby, with Laura Bailey portraying her in the video game series. Earlier this year, Bailey said the online abuse she received after certain story points from The Last of Us Part 2 became public knowledge didn’t just threaten her life, but her son’s, as well.
“Every time I went online, that’s all I saw. Death threats and threats of violence,” she said in the behind-the-scenes documentary, Grounded 2: Making The Last of Us Part 2, which was released back in February.
As for the TV series itself, Merced said the team is on the “tail end” of filming right now, with the second season of The Last of Us set to debut in 2025.
At the start of this month, HBO released a new teaser for the upcoming season, giving us our first look at Dever as The Last of Us’ Abby, as well as more from Joel, Ellie, Dina and Catherine O’Hara’s yet-to-be-named character.
