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THE LAST OF US Wins Best TV Stunt Ensemble at SAG Awards

Bloater stunt actor Adam Basil’s Instagram.

HBO’s fungal pandemic survival drama The Last of Us wins the Best TV Stunt Ensemble at the SAG Awards, for a season of Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) fighting other survivors and hordes of the Infected, including the video game favourite Bloater.

Congratulations to The Last of Us Stunt Coordinator Guy Bews and Assistant Stunt Coordinator Maggie Macdonald.

Troy Baker is the video game’s Joel Miller.

One of The Last of Us’s biggest stunts happened in episode 5, when a subterranean swarm of the Infected — including Bloater — overran an abandoned Kansas City subdivision created in Calgary.

Ten to 15 stunt actors in Clicker masks sprinted up to the cul-de-sac, running over cars and lunging at and biting the rebels chasing our heroes.

How The Last of Us Episode 5 Staged a Subterranean Swarm of Infected in Calgary

The Last of Us image.

When you have a sinkhole, which is on fire in a cul-de-sac, and a whole bunch of revolutionaries who are keen to get Joel and Ellie, it’s time to release the Bloater —  episode director Jeremy Webb, to Vulture.

The Last of Us image.

60 extras in full Infected makeup and 50 to 70 digitally-added Infected made the horde seem unending.

Stunt Coordinator Guy Bews and Assistant Stunt Coordinator Maggie Macdonald with the horde of infected.

Maggie Macdonald/@maggiemacnew Instagram.

The Last of Us also won four VFX awards on Tuesday night for its Infected and for Bloater at the 2024 VES Awards.

OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL EPISODE
The Last of Us; Season 1; Infected
Alex Wang, Sean Nowlan, Stephen James, Simon Jung, Joel Whist.

OUTSTANDING ANIMATED CHARACTER IN AN EPISODE, COMMERCIAL, GAME CINEMATIC OR REAL-TIME PROJECT
The Last of Us; Endure & Survive; Bloater
Gino Acevedo, Max Telfer, Dennis You, Fabio Leporelli.

OUTSTANDING COMPOSITING & LIGHTING IN AN EPISODE
The Last of Us; Endure and Survive; Infected Horde Battle
Matthew Lumb, Ben Roberts, Ben Campbell, Quentin Hema.

OUTSTANDING CREATED ENVIRONMENT IN AN EPISODE, COMMERCIAL, GAME CINEMATIC OR REAL-TIME PROJECT
The Last of Us: Post-Outbreak Boston
Melaina Mace, Adrien Lambert, Juan Carlos Barquet, Christopher Anciaume.

The Last of Us Season One:

The Last of Us takes place 20 years after modern civilization has been destroyed by a fungal pandemic. Joel (Pedro Pascal), a hardened survivor, is hired to smuggle 14-year-old Ellie (Bella Ramsey) out of an oppressive quarantine zone. What starts as a small job soon becomes a brutal, heartbreaking journey as they both must traverse across the U.S. and depend on each other for survival.

Alberta filming dates: July 12 2021 – June 10 2022.

Showrunners: Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann (who created the video game). 

Cast: Pedro Pascal, Bella Ramsey.