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In HBO‘s new hit series, The Last of Us, Nico Parker plays a young teen who doesn’t make it past day one of the zombie apocalypse. In a recent interview, the actor revealed who she thinks she’d have better survival odds with if an apocalypse were really to happen. 

Nico Parker plays Joel’s daughter Sarah in ‘The Last of Us’ 

HBO’s The Last of Us is based on the popular 2013 Naughty Dog video game of the same name. It follows the journey of Joel and Ellie, two survivors of a zombie apocalypse that has decimated a majority of the world’s population. The series focuses on their relationship as they travel across the country together, looking for scientists who could harness Ellie’s immunity and turn it into a cure. 

The Mandalorian star Pedro Pascal plays Joel. And Game of Thrones star Bella Ramsey portrays Ellie. Parker joins the cast as Sarah, Joel’s teen daughter. 

Parker mainly appears in The Last of Us Episode 1, titled “When You’re Lost in the Darkness.” The episode follows Sarah as she navigates the first hours of the apocalypse. As Joel and Sarah try to escape the mayhem and chaos, an army soldier shoots and kills Sarah. 

Joel’s loss torments him for years. And it eventually shapes his protective, father-figure dynamic with Ellie. 

‘The Last of Us’ star Nico Parker reveals who would be on her apocalypse ‘dream team’ 

In a recent interview with IMDb, The Last of Us cast chatted about the show and their roles. When asked about who she would want on her “Apocalypse Dream Team,” Parker listed a surprising celebrity name, her sister Ripley Parker, and the creator of The Last of Us game and series, Neil Druckmann. 

nico parker last of us
Nico Parker attends the Los Angeles Premiere of HBO’s “The Last of Us” at Regency Village Theatre on January 09, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. | Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

“Amal Clooney, I met her recently, and I’ve never been more in awe of an individual in my entire life,” Parker said. “My sister, because she’s just incredible.” 

“Oh my God, and Neil!” the 18-year-old added. “I am 100 percent convinced that he would know exactly what to do in any circumstance, specifically apocalypse related. So, I would 100 percent have Neil there.”

Nico Parker calls her ‘The Last of Us’ co-star Pedro Pascal her ‘dream fake father’

Parker is the daughter of Westworld star Thandiwe Newton and filmmaker Ol Parker. But when she approached her father-daughter dynamic as Sarah in The Last of Us, the British actor recalled looking to co-star Pedro Pascal for advice. 

“The people that I would really seek out would be the people that I’m acting alongside,” Parker told Looper. “The easiest person to talk to in terms of wanting to create that dynamic and wanting it to translate well on screen was Pedro because we both have a common goal and we are the ones that have to [achieve it] eventually.” 

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“He’s wonderful to work with,” she added. “He is the dream fake father, on-screen parent. It was incredible.”

New episodes of The Last of Us air Sunday nights on HBO.