“Before The Last Of Us, I was getting all these kind of second, third tier games which were great roles, but no where near the scale of the AAA, Naughty Dog kind of stuff. Baker thought, “I am not right for this role” So in that initial audition, what was going on in his head? Of course, Troy Baker ended up landing the role of Joel and working alongside Ashley Johnson’s Ellie. Read on to discover Troy Baker’s initial, nervous impressions of reading the role of Joel…Ģ. READ MORE: The latest news on The Last Of Us TV series The year was 2013, and despite Baker having already appeared in well over 200 games, Naughty Dog’s PS3 swansong was the first time he’d been offered a lead role in a AAA game. Sitting down with Stealth Optional, Baker admits that auditioning for Naughty Dog’s plaid shirt-loving protagonist was the first time that he felt truly nervous in his acting career. Yet despite Baker lending his surprisingly versatile voice to everyone from Wolverine to The Joker, it was his role as The Last Of Us’ Joel that really elevated him to the big leagues.

Essentially, he’s the Brad Pitt of video games (sorry Nolan North). With his dulcet tones bringing life to some of the medium’s most beloved characters (Sam Drake, Batman, Booker Dewitt) and literally hundreds more, Baker has established himself as video game royalty – and a bit of a vocal booth rockstar. You might not know Troy Baker’s name, but if you’ve played a video game in the last decade – you certainly know his voice.

Joel voice last of us