Here's Who Convinced Nick Offerman to Play Gay Character Bill in 'The Last of Us'

Nick Offerman made us believe in love with his portrayal of a gay man building a life after an apocalypse in the latest episode of The Last of UsThe Last of Us — but he almost didn’t even take the role.

In the popular HBO series (based on the video game franchise of the same name), Offerman played Bill, a survivalist who sets up fences and traps around his town after it is evacuated due to a zombie apocalypse caused by fungus. In the episode, titled “A Long, Long Time,” Bill meets Frank (Murray Bartlett), a man who fell into one of his traps, and the two fall in love as they get to know each other and try to survive.

The episode is garnering immediate awards buzz, with many critics calling it one of the best episodes of TV they’ve seen in years. Offerman is likely to be nominated for an Emmy for the episode.

But fans will be surprised to learn that he almost turned the role down. Thanks to his wife, however, we got to see his performance, and he’ll get an invite to next year’s Emmy ceremony.

While talking on Jimmy Kimmel Live about the episode, Offerman revealed that at first, he wasn’t sure if the role was right for him. It was his wife, Will & Grace’s Megan Mullally who convinced him.

“When I got the script – Craig Mazin wrote the script who did Chernobyl among other things – that guy seems to know what he’s doing, and he sent me this script and I didn’t have time on the calendar to say yes to this job,” Offerman said.

“My incredible goddess of a wife read it and she said, ‘You’re going to Calgary, buddy. Have fun. You have to do this.’”

Thank god for Megan Mullally!

Offerman also talked about how honored and excited he was to work with Murray Bartlett in the episode.

“The timing was such that we had just finished watching The White Lotus season one and so I said it felt like I had just seen The Raiders of the Lost Ark, and they said, ‘All right, we want you to do this show and your co-star is going to be the guy with the hat and the whip and the most charismatic performance of the year,’” he said about working with Bartlett. “It was undeniable I was so grateful to get to work with him.”

While there won’t be any more Bill and Frank in upcoming episodes of The Last of Us, the show is still one of the best on TV and has several other queer characters.

Nick Offerman on His Episode of The Last Of Us, Reactions to His Performance & Being Spoiled on Touryoutu.be

New episodes air Sunday nights on HBO.