Storm Reid on the responsibility of playing an empowered young Black queer character in The Last Of Us

I have no idea what’s going on! We haven’t currently started filming yet. I think it’s going to happen soon, sooner rather than later. I think they’re just trying to get everybody’s schedules together.

I can imagine it would be tough getting everybody together! In general, Euphoria is set in a more real-life high school setting. How does filming for something like that, which has fun, fashion, and laughter, compare to something more serious like The Last of Us?

I think I appreciated being in a different world shooting The Last of Us because Euphoria and a lot of the other projects that I’m a part of imitate real life, or at least imitate a part of life that I’ve experienced, like being in a neighbourhood or going to a high school or going to a party with friends. Those are things that I experience and that I do all the time. But I’ve never been in a post-apocalyptic world, so to be in a different set, I really enjoyed that. They did a great job with the props and decorations and ensuring everything resembled the video game. So it was a cool universe to be in.

You’ve achieved so much in your career already. What other things can we expect from you in the future? 

The goal and dream are to continue to be a part of purposeful content and inspire audiences through my work as an actress and producer. We are doing some producing things with my production company, which is very exciting. I’m also not working as heavily right now with Missing just coming out, me coming off of a movie, The Last Of Us coming out, and I’ve just filmed The Nun 2. I told my team that I wanted to spend some time at school, so I’d like to finish my sophomore year at USC, and then we’ll get back to work in the summer.

Amazing, so excited to see what else you do! Quickly returning to The Last of Us, what do you hope viewers take away from Riley?

I think Riley can teach people optimism no matter what circumstance they’re in and no matter what situation they’re in. I think she’s the human personification of putting your best foot forward and still trying to show up in the best way possible no matter what’s happening around you. I hope people can relate to that. Like, yeah, they are going through a lot, living through a lot, and living through scary times, but Riley is always excited, and she loves life even though life is not what she thought it would be. So I think people can relate to that, and that will hopefully inspire people.

Lastly, what would you say would be your three essential tips for surviving the post-apocalyptic world?

Find a good hiding spot. Find the food and resources if there are any left. Make sure you grab everything and then stay hidden. Don’t make any noise. Try to survive. I don’t know… my advice is not that good because I don’t think I would make it far!