The actress behind The Last of Us Part II‘s Abby, Laura Bailey, has said that she knew the character was going to evoke backlash but she didn’t anticipate the extent of backlash she received.
Speaking to Game Informer in a year-end interview, Bailey added that leaks had a role to play in the fiasco because people didn’t get to experience the story in context. Bailey herself didn’t like Abby initially when she started playing the game, but eventually realized that the character isn’t meant to be liked.
It was difficult, but I think it’s an incredible story, and I think Abby is, man, just one of the most amazing characters that I’ve ever played. I knew the story; I knew what I was getting into, and when it hit ‘Day One’ with Abby, I still didn’t like Abby. I didn’t like my performance. I didn’t like the character. I remember playing for like three hours into ‘Day One’ as Abby and talking to [my husband] Travis, and being like, ‘I don’t like what I did. I’m not good. This is terrible. I don’t know how I was cast. All of these years of work is for nothing.’ And Travis is like, ‘Just shut up, go back, and keep playing because you are obviously very biased right now.’ And as I continued to play, then I was like, ‘Oh, okay, I just had to acclimate to myself because I didn’t like me. I didn’t like Abby.’ You’re not supposed to, you know.
Bailey won an award for her role as Abby at The Game Awards 2020.
[Source: Game Informer]
