When video game developer Neil Druckmann cast Ian Alexander as Lev in The Last of Us Part II, the choice was deliberate and purposeful. "We wanted to make sure we cast a trans actor, because authenticity was so important for this character," Druckmann said. The game's creative team understood that for a character whose gender identity forms the emotional core of his story, representation mattered.
HBO's adaptation of The Last of Us will not follow that path. Michelle Mao (Bridgerton) and Kyriana Kratter (Star Wars: Skeleton Crew) are joining the upcoming third season as series regulars playing Yara and Lev, respectively. Unlike Alexander, who is trans non-binary, Lev is a trans boy in The Last of Us Part II, and Kratter is cis. According to Deadline, the producers of the show felt she "best embodied the character," who will still be a transgender boy in the series.
Like in the game, Lev is a 13-year-old transgender boy. HBO held an inclusive casting call for Lev, with young actors of different backgrounds auditioning, and it was won by Kratter who is a child herself at 15. The decision arrives as the television adaptation enters new creative territory. Video game co-creator Neil Druckmann stepped down as co-showrunner last year, leaving Craig Mazin (Chernobyl) as the sole showrunner for Season 3.
For fans of the game, the casting carries particular weight. Lev is a transgender boy, a key detail that factors heavily into his feelings and motivations as a character. His acceptance of his identity as a transgender boy and the wedge this drives between the siblings and their larger Seraphite community is an integral part of their arcs in the game. Lev is the deuteragonist of Abby's storyline in Naughty Dog's game, serving as her partner and moral compass.
The broader question about casting decisions involving marginalised identities is not new. The prospect of cis actors playing trans characters has a thorny history. Actors like Hilary Swank and Eddie Redmayne have won awards for playing trans characters, an act which is often seen as brave for cis actors to undertake. These actors can give great performances embodying characters from a different lived experience, but ultimately this means that a trans actor was denied the job.
The precedent set by the source material matters here. When Naughty Dog decided to cast a trans actor for authenticity, the studios initially reached out to agencies who said they didn't have a single trans teen candidate. "We got very lucky that we were fans of 'The OA'," Druckmann said of the Netflix series, and he was able to track Alexander down for an audition. The game's creative process reflected a deliberate commitment to representation that shaped how Lev's character would be received and understood.
It's worth examining what this casting choice means in the context of adaptation. The television series has already shown willingness to depart from the games in significant ways; this decision represents another such departure. Whether the casting proves successful will depend, ultimately, on what Kratter brings to a character whose internal experience of gender and identity cannot be divorced from Lev's broader narrative purpose.
There are legitimate perspectives on both sides of this question. Those who prioritise artistic merit and performance ability argue that casting should reflect the best fit for a role. Those who emphasise representation argue that in an industry where trans actors face documented barriers to employment, casting a cisgender actor in a role written specifically for a trans character represents a missed opportunity.
What seems clear is that Lev's story, both in the game and now in television form, sits at the intersection of these competing values. The character's struggle for recognition and agency within his own community mirrors, in some ways, the broader conversation about whose stories get told and by whom.