Tommy Miller has done a lot of growing since we first met him in season one. A family man and a core member of the Jackson community, he has found himself in a leader role.
His brother, Joel, has always considered Tommy a selfless man, who wants to do good for the sake of the world around him. This trait became important during the outbreak, becoming a protector for those in need, though mostly he is content with living as peaceful a life as possible.
Speaking ahead of season two, Gabriel Luna talks about how Tommy has changed within the five-year time jump, his connection to Ellie and Joel, and what it was like working with the cast once again.
Where do we find Tommy at the beginning of season two?
It’s five years later and we find Tommy a little older and slower, but certainly much happier and probably lacking a bit of sleep.
He and Maria have expanded their family; their son Benjamin is five. He’s played by an actor named Ezra, super cute kid. He was sprouting like a weed: From the time we started to the time we wrapped, he’d grown about four inches!
How has fatherhood changed Tommy?
When someone has children, it’s a solidification of one’s constitution; a crystallization of what one is truly about. What is it you want to pass on to your child? What do you want to teach?
Tommy had a bit of experience with that with Sarah before her passing and certainly cultivated more of that with Ellie as she’s been folded into the family. But with Benjamin, it’s really become very crystalline what he truly is about: his paradigm, his beliefs and what’s worth fighting for.
How did the time jump affect the way you approached Tommy this season?
He’s now about 55. I was training my butt off to be healthy enough to handle the physical load of what episode two entails.
I was getting in great shape and Craig is like, ‘Man, you’re not supposed to be in that good of shape! You’re old, broken down, tired.’
Right and for the record, you are not 55 in real life.
(Laughs) Right, right. That isn’t to say I don’t have my own little nicks and scratches over the years from playing ball. The shoulder’s a little messed up, and I had a dislocated patella, but Tommy can still shoot good.
He keeps the enemy at a distance, so he doesn’t really have to worry. He’s got the requisite skill set to manage, lead, organize and prepare; keep the town of Jackson in the mentality of staying ready. I think that’s where his strengths are.
Tommy’s wife Marie is the foundation of all of it. I think together they are able to complement each other; offer up strengths to interlock with the other’s weaknesses in order to serve the community.
It’s refreshing to see a female character in a world like this written to be as powerful as her spouse.
Yes. In reading the scripts and also knowing the story from the game, I was really looking forward to that interaction. There’s great balance there. She’s so heroic in and of herself; brilliant and nurturing, and she’s on the frontline too. That’s a very scary thing for both of them.
I remember during shooting, I put together a playlist— I always put together music to inspire me for whatever I’m working on— and for those scenes it was “If Tomorrow Never Comes” by Garth Brooks. It’s a really beautiful, sweet, sad song that asks: Would she know how much I loved her? Did I do everything I needed to? Because every day these characters are confronted with the question of whether they’re going to survive to the next day.
Each time any of them goes beyond the wall, there’s a real possibility that we don’t return. It’s a lot for one family.
Some themes this season feel particularly poignant and timely, for one: people who live day to day not knowing if they’re going to wake up in the morning; or if their loved one will return from the front lines of war.
Absolutely. Neil constructed this story as an allegory. He’s very familiar with the conflict that’s playing out in the West Bank, and other crises around all the world.
In the same way that the first season was a salve for people who had lived through the pandemic, this season has other very important meanings and lessons.
There’s a flashback moment this season where we see Tommy and Joel as kids alongside their father. What do we learn about them this season that illuminates more about their relationship?
Joel has always been Tommy’s protector and overseer and had the paternal instincts.
Tommy probably learned just as much from Joel growing up as Tommy did from their father.
When we had to go our separate ways, I think it was because Joel was the one that needed protecting and he wouldn’t allow it, and it was taking them both down. Then he finds his salvation; a renewed love for Ellie.
This season, Joel and Tommy are in this seemingly idyllic place family-wise and in the greater community. But unfortunately, because of the harshness of our environment, they are probably becoming more and more like their father than they’d like to admit.”
How has it felt to work alongside a larger ensemble of actors this season, including new additions Kaitlyn Dever, Isabela Merced, Young Mazino and others?
One of Craig’s superpowers is identifying the perfect actors and human relationships in general; this comes across in every script and the way he assembles our casts. He knows how people are going to relate to each other.
I was so happy to have Pedro, Bella and Rutina back in the series, but then you add Isabella Merced, who is just a firecracker and has a deep, deep well of wisdom, and I’ve known Kaitlyn Dever since she was a child actor. She’s grown to be a woman who is equipped with everything you need to be truly great. She’s also from Texas!
Young is also so amazing— he’s so good at doing nothing and everything at the same time. We also have Danny Ramirez, Ariel Bar and Tati Gabrielle who’s incredible and also the lead of Neil’s [Druckmann] new game. Such a great talent. Spencer Lord is just perfect as Owen. And of course Catherine O’Hara and Joe Pantoliano. Before they announced Joey, I read the call sheet and noticed his name. I texted Craig ‘Joey Pants???’ He’s like, ‘I know!’