Who plays Henry and Sam in HBO’s The Last of Us?

The Last of Us episode 5 fully introduces us to Henry and Sam. Who are they and who are the actors who play them?

The Last of Us‘ fourth episode introduced a new character to the mix when Melanie Lynskey debuted as Kathleen. She’s an original character that fans who played the video game weren’t familiar with, but whenever she mentioned Henry, that’s when things began to fall into place.

We met Henry and his little brother Sam in the closing moments of the previous episode, when they confronted Joel and Ellie in the abandoned building they were staying in. But in episode 5 (which will be released on HBO Max and HBO On Demand two days earlier than usual), we will likely get to know them a little bit better.

Before all that, though, we can get to know the actors who bring them to life.

The Last of Us Henry and Sam actors

Henry Burrell is portrayed by Lamar Johnson. Having appeared in episodes of a number of TV shows such as Covert Affairs, Degrassi: The Next Generation, The Firm, and Rookie Blue, he is perhaps best known for his regular role on dance series The Next Step – which he starred in from 2013 to 2019. On the film side of things, he is best known for his role as Seven Carter in The Hate U Give and Charlie in  All The Bright Places, while also appearing in movies such as Dark Phoenix and Run Sweetheart Run.

The role of Sam is played by Keivonn Montreal Woodard. This is Woodard’s first major TV role (although he has previously appeared in the short Fractal). Like his character Sam in The Last of Us, Woodard is deaf. The character isn’t deaf in the game, and creator Neil Druckmann acknowledged that this was an important change to make for the HBO series, adding that part of Sam’s story in the show is more “impactful” than it was in the game.

We can’t wait to see how Henry and Sam play into the show!

Are you looking forward to meeting Sam and Henry in The Last of Us episode 5? Let us know in the comments below!