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The Last of Us cast and crew learnt sign language for Sam actor Keivonn Woodard
14 February 2023, 15:04 | Updated: 15 February 2023, 11:29
Keivonn Woodard starred as Sam in the most recent episode of The Last of Us, Endure and Survive.
WARNING: SPOILERS FOR THE LAST OF US AHEAD
The Last of Us' cast and crew learnt ASL sign language for guest star Keivonn Woodard in order to not exclude him from conversations happening on set.
Endure and Survive, the fifth episode of The Last of Us, introduced two new characters to Joel and Ellie's world; Henry, played by Lamar Johnson, and his little brother Sam, played by Woodard.
During the episode, we learn that Henry is on the run with his deaf brother and attempting to escape Kansas City before he is hunted down by the resistance.
Keivonn is deaf in real life and uses American Sign Language (ASL) to communicate, something that the cast and crew picked up while filming with him.
The Last of Us cast learned ASL for episode 5
Speaking to TV Guide, Lamar said: “I started taking lessons as soon as possible. Leading up to and even during filming I would be training, and I’d be working on my sign so that it can feel as organic as possible."
The 28-year-old actor added: "Especially with Keivonn — Sam, being deaf in real life — I really wanted that communication to feel organic and authentic.”
In an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the filming of the episode shared on HBO's YouTube page, Pedro Pascal, who plays Joel, revealed how fast people picked up ASL, referencing his co-star Bella Ramsey in particular, who plays Ellie.
Ramsey explained that Keivonn's team were open to teaching people how to sign and by the end got everyone in the crew using ASL in order to tell the young actor how well he was doing.
Watch the behind-the-scenes interviews here:
The Last of Us | Inside the Episode - 5 | HBO Max
Keivonn's mother, April, also said she was thankful of how supportive everyone on set was, telling the Daily Moth: "It was important to me to always be discussing with [Kevin] how he was feeling and how he felt working with his team.
"I had the expectations, of course, that him being deaf, I was ready for barriers, and problems to happen, but that was not the case at all!"
April went on: "I’m thankful we had such a great team that was receptive and motivated along with us. We were very fortunate to have that great team."
Keivonn also spoke about how it felt to work on the hit show, explaining: "I was a bit afraid at first, but I went ahead and overcame that, auditioned, and got the role with The Last of Us! I was mind-blown."
