Nick Offerman spoke out against the “homophobic” hate for his iconic The Last of Us episode when he won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Performance in a New Scripted Series on February 25. “Thank you so much. I’m astonished to be in this category, which is bananas. This is crazy,” the 53-year-old actor said on stage while accepting his award.
“Thanks to HBO for having the guts to participate in this storytelling tradition that is truly independent,” Nick continued. “Stories with guts that when homophobic hate comes my way and says, ‘Why did you have to make it a gay story?’ We say, ‘Because you ask questions like that.’ It’s not a gay story, it’s a love story, you a**hole!”
Nick paused as the audience overwhelmingly applauded his clap back to critics of the episode, before adding, “So more of that.” He wrapped up his speech with several shoutouts including to Murray Bartlett, who played his on-screen lover in the HBO series.
The third episode of The Last Of Us season 1, titled “Long, Long Time,” explores the love story between Nick and Murray’s characters, Bill and Frank. While the duo is only mentioned in the video game that inspired the show, HBO decided to dedicate an entire episode to their relationship. Nick and Murray were praised for their performances and both received nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series, which Nick won.
Nick talked about the overwhelmingly positive response to his The Last Of Us episode in an interview with Variety in 2023. “I just want to say, this has never happened to me in my life! It’s crazy!” he said. Nick also shared he didn’t have concerns about playing Bill for the scene where he has sex with Frank for the first time. “It’s the most intimate, private moment that you’re trying to create with a scene partner — you know, with 16 people standing four feet away, scrutinizing your every move. So that discomfort was easy to channel into the unease and vulnerability that Bill felt in that moment,” the actor said.
The Last Of Us, starring Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, premiered in January 2023. Production on season 2 began on February 12 in Vancouver, Canada. Pedro gave an update on season 2 in the press room at the 2024 SAG Awards on February 24. “Filming is going amazing,” he told Deadline. “It’s sort of awe-inspiring the kind of focus and dedication that everyone has going into Season 2.”