The Last of Us co-creator Craig Mazin remembers the moment he knew for certain that casting Isabela Merced was the right choice.
It was Merced’s first scene with Ellie (Bella Ramsey) in the debut episode of season two. “Ellie opens the door and Izzy turns and goes, ‘Hiiiii,’ which is just awesome,” recalls the showrunner, who cast the 23-year-old actress after seeing her in Sicario: Day of the Soldado. “She just radiates.”
That word – “radiates” — is…