Beef star Young Mazino joins Season 2 of The Last of Us

Young Mazino just attended the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards as part of Netflix’s spectacular comedy-drama Beef. The young actor is wasting no time jumping back into another hit drama for HBO's The Last of Us.

Young will join Isabela Merced and Kaitlyn Dever as newcomers for season 2. Young Mazino was born Christopher Young Kim, a Maryland native.

He's a Korean actor who began his career in 2013 in Digging. Mazino has also appeared in hit shows such as Blindspot, Blue Bloods, Prodigal Son, and New Amsterdam.

But his biggest break came in 2023 as Paul Cho in Netflix’s breakout comedic drama Beef.

Who will Young Mazino be playing in The Last of Us season 2?

Young Mazino will be playing a character named Jesse. He is a resident of the Jackson, Wyoming community and the ex-boyfriend of Merced’s character Dina.

He also becomes a friend to Ellie and a leader of the patrol groups within the walls of Jackson. Likewise, he helps aid Ellie in her journey for revenge.

Jesse and Dina may have broken up by the time Ellie and Dina meet, but they remain friends within the community. So, it doesn’t look like there will be any awkward feelings or a love triangle.

Although you never know how much Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann will sway from the video game, creating something fresh for the audience. Mazino told Marc Malkin at Variety that he plays a character who is "a pillar of his community who puts everyone else’s needs before his own, sometimes at terrible cost."

He has not met Pedro Pascal or Bella Ramsey yet in person, but he is set to start his filming debut for season 2 in a couple of weeks.

"After the strike ended, I was able to get a meeting with the showrunners and we kind of just shopped it up. I played the video game before the meeting and we had a long talk about their process and what they’re looking for. I guess ‘Beef’ pushed me the rest of the way. That’s the beauty of where I’m getting at now. It’s a conversation more than an audition process. "

- Young Mazino on joining The Last of Us

The Beef star is both thrilled and grateful to be back at work. Head of HBO Casey Bloys revealed that season 2 of The Last of Us will be bigger, with retribution and revenge.

It follows the video game, of course, and has big themes and big actions. Mazin and Druckmann are doing a spectacular job according to Bloys.

Many think they’ve already done a phenomenal job with the first season, hence all the award show nominations piling in. This only bodes well for the expectations for season 2.

Things are looking good as The Last of Us will begin filming this February.

Do you think this is a good casting move for The Last of Us? Let us know in the comments below.