Kaitlyn Dever Reveals She Lost Her Mom Just Days Before Filming The Last of Us

(Note: This article contains spoilers for The Last of Us Season 2.)

Kaitlyn Dever has shared an emotional moment while filming her first scene for The Last of Us Season 2. Following the release of Episode 2, Dever revealed that she lost her mother to cancer shortly before filming began. Her big scene with Pedro Pascal‘s Joel was the first material she shot as Abby.

Season 2, episode 2 features a face-off between Dever’s Abby and Pascal’s Joel, where Abby takes her revenge by killing Joel in front of Ellie (Bella Ramsey).

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Dever revealed that she lost her mother just two or three weeks before filming began on The Last of Us Season 2. Her mother’s funeral took place only three days before her first day on set. Dever described herself as being “in a fog” and “in a daze” during that time, reflecting the emotional weight she carried into her first scene.

“To be as honest as possible,” Dever said, “I will just say that my days leading up to this scene were horrible.” She added, “I lost my mom two or three weeks before I actually shot this scene [on The Last of Us], and my mom’s funeral was three days before I did my first day. So I was sort of in a fog. I was in a daze.”

On Instagram on Feb. 21, 2024, Dever shared a tribute to her mother alongside a carousel of images, remembering her as “sunshine” and “the sweetest in the world.”

Dever wrote: “I don’t even have the words,” she said in the post. “Nothing I’ll ever say will amount to the gifts you have given me in my life—the boundless joy you brought, the deep, endless, unconditional love you gave me and our family. Your love was everywhere. It was in the morning having coffee with you and shopping on The RealReal; it was sitting out by the pool eating watermelon (with salt on it, of course) and listening to Willie Nelson; it was lying in your bed with you, watching Seinfeld and listening to your infectious laugh as you recited every line from memory; it was making fun of each other.”

Showrunner Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann, the other showrunner and co-creator of the video games, are amazed by how strong Dever was during that time.

“It wasn’t surprising to me when Neil talked about it when we were just starting to work on the first season,” Mazin comments, referring to his partner in crime, Druckmann. “Part of what makes The Last of Us relevant to those of us who aren’t living in a fungal apocalypse is that it portrays the shattering nature of loss. It talks about what is left behind when somebody is torn away from you. Then you start to wonder what price we all pay in our lives — all of us — for caring about people that much.”

According to The Last of Us Season 2 official description, “After five years of peace following the events of the first season, Joel and Ellie’s collective past catches up to them, drawing them into conflict with each other and a world even more dangerous and unpredictable than the one they left behind.”

Stars Pascal and Ramsey are returning for Season 2, along with Gabriel Luna and Rutina Wesley. Season 2 also features Dever, Isabela Merced, Young Mazino, Ariela Barer, Tati Gabrielle, Spencer Lord, Danny Ramirez, Jeffrey Wright, Catherine O’Hara, Joe Pantoliano, Alanna Ubach, Ben Ahlers, Hettienne Park, Robert John Burke, and Noah Lamanna.

The Last of Us Season 2 is now available on Max.