The Last of Us: Voicing Sarah and Riley — Two Girls, Two Identities

Part of the saga that marked a before and after in the gaming world. For its script, its characters, its photography and its gameplay experience, The Last of Us remains one of the most memorable titles in the culture. I had the great honor of being part of this story in 'The Last of Us' and 'Left Behind' — playing little Sarah and young Riley.

Here lies the actor's challenge that I love telling clients about: two female characters, close in age, in the same universe — who cannot sound like the same person. Sarah is tenderness and ordinary life about to break; Riley is defiance, humor and loyalty in a broken world. Same actress, two identities. The craft is not changing your voice: it is changing who is speaking.

Years later, this story came back to me in the most beautiful way: I voiced Riley again in the HBO series adaptation — work that earned a Voice Arts Awards nomination for Outstanding Dubbing in 2023. Few things say more about a character than getting to grow with her across a decade and two mediums.

The scene lives on my Instagram — and this range is in my video game demos.

Voicing the adventurous Riley in the HBO series — the first television adaptation of the game — multiplied the emotion all over again: same character, new medium, and this time synchronized to a live-action performance instead of a game engine. Video game sessions and dubbing sessions ask for different muscles (games record wild lines out of context; dubbing chains you lovingly to another actress's breath), and Riley made me switch between both. That double journey is also on my Instagram.

Watch it in action