Young Mazino on ‘The Last of Us’ Season 2 Finale, Jesse’s Fate, and What’s Next

Mazino rose to popularity in Netflix’s Beef, right after he acquired his SAG-AFTRA card and changed his name from Christopher Young Kim to Young Mazino. The limited series co-starring Ali Wong and Steve Yeun was a smash success for Netflix, and it earned Mazino a nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series at the 2023 Emmy Awards. Ever since, life has been a whirlwind of press tours, interviews, and the occasional rookie goof, like the time Mazino accidentally spoiled The Last of Us plot details on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

“I’m going with the flow and seeing what speaks to me and what doesn’t,” Mazino says. “So, maybe you’ll see me, and maybe you won’t.”

He stars in The Last of Us as the responsible and stoic Jesse—a character in HBO’s apocalyptic world who finds himself caught in a love triangle with Ellie (Ramsey) and Dina (Merced). And like most characters on the brutal HBO drama, Jesse dies way before his time. So, what’s next for Mazino? Well, as much as the industry is ready to anoint Mazino as the Next Big Thing, the actor has other plans in mind. For starters, maybe something behind the camera.

“I grew up on manga, comics, and anime,” says Mazino. “That stuff is so near and dear to my heart, and I have my own anime series that I’ve been wanting to make—like a gangster, period Pulp Fiction-esque story. If I could balance that with an acting career and work on things that are fulfilling as an artist, then I will. I understand the nature of this industry, and I understand I am an Asian American actor—which comes with its pros and cons—but I’m going with the flow and seeing what speaks to me and what doesn’t. So, maybe you’ll see me, and maybe you won’t. I don’t know.”

During our talk, Mazino recalls a particularly surreal experience of waiting for the restroom at the 2024 Academy Museum Galas and turning around to see a line comprised of Robert Downey Jr., Cillian Murphy, Seth Rogen, George Clooney, and a curiously barefoot Paul Walter Hauser—who beat Mazino in his Emmy Award category that year. “He was eating something, and I was like, ‘Paul, my God, congratulations,’” Mazino recalls. “He was like, ‘Hey, man, don’t listen to anybody. You do whatever you want.’ Then, he just walks out the door barefoot onto the streets. I don’t even know where he went.”

For The Last of Us fans, there’s hope we’ll see Mazino again in season 3. As the series teased at the end of Sunday night’s episode, season 3 will shift back to the beginning of season 2 to recap the events from another character’s perspective. Until then, Mazino shares his thoughts below on his quick rise to fame, and his character’s sudden death in The Last of Us season 2 finale.

“He’s a stickler for the rules,” Mazino says about his Last of Us character, Jesse. “I’ve been a bit impulsive and rash by nature my whole life.”

Have you always been pretty laid-back, even when you were younger?

No. when I was really young, I was bouncing off the walls. I was high energy, just super zany and creative. But I have a very stoic dad who kind of impressed upon me his ideals of being a man and being a bit more internal. The women in my family, they got a lot of fire. So, I balance that out. My dad and I are a bit more on the easygoing side, and I guess I just have enough THC in my system to keep me mellow for a long time.

I’ve heard crazy stories from students at the famous Stella Adler Studio of Acting in New York. What’s the most ridiculous acting exercise you did when you were in drama school?

I had one scene technique class, and long story short, I’m butt-ass naked. Just everything hanging out, running around. I really wanted to challenge myself and see—when you bear it all literally on stage—how that informs you physically, spiritually, and energetically. But yeah, I was wilding out and I don’t know if I see the tutelage there. [Laughs.]

Are you a gamer? Did you experience The Last of Us before joining the show?

Well, back when the first game came out, I couldn’t afford to buy a PS4. So, I did what people did in my position and just watched all the cutscenes. I knew there was a second game, but I didn’t play it until my meeting with Craig [Mazin]. But that game is so difficult. I’m used to unlimited ammo, just like guns blazing. Suddenly, I’m scrounging around for shell casings because I ran out of bullets. I’m maybe two minutes into the level before I had to change the difficulty to the easiest mode. Otherwise, I thought, This is going to take me three years to complete.

How did you find out about Jesse? Did you audition?

I have to credit Lee [Sung Jin] who created Beef for giving me that opportunity, because before that, I was just knocking on the door for a while, and nobody was answering. Beef really helped and gave me something to work with. From that exposure, that’s how I think I ended up on Craig’s radar. I went to meet with him and Neil [Druckmann], and we had an hour-and-a-half talk. I remember leaving and I was like, “If you guys need me to audition, I would love to audition.” Craig was like, “No, you’re good.” I didn’t know what he meant by that until a few days later. I just got the offer.

Do you think if you were placed in The Last of Us that you would act like Jesse? You both seem so calm and level-headed under pressure.

I’m more of an isolationist, loner, antisocial type. Well, he is too. But, if you watched the finale, I would’ve gone with my lover to Mexico. That’s where we differ. He’s a stickler for the rules. I’ve been a bit impulsive and rash by nature my whole life. I just go with my own flow, and that leads me into a lot of trouble. So, I probably would have not made it as far as Jesse has. But I would’ve definitely gone to Mexico.

I love that we got all that backstory for your character in the finale. Not just so that we could spend more time with you on screen before your death, but because I was worried that you might’ve taken the bullet at the very beginning of the finale.

Yeah, it’s nice to have that moment to explain a lot about Jesse. It explains the aloofness, and he kind of uses that to make a point. I mean, staying with the community instead of running off to Mexico is such a Jesse thing to do, but he uses that moment to be like, “Ellie, do you see what it takes to do the right thing?” Ultimately, it doesn’t work. He sees that she’s lost in the sauce and there’s no convincing her. But that’s the moment where he’s like, “I really hope you make it.”

“I think I’m contractually obligated to,” Mazino jokes about returning for season 3. “If that’s something they want to explore, I’m down nonetheless.”

What are your thoughts on returning for The Last of Us season 3?

I’m down, though I think I’m contractually obligated to. I trust in Craig and Neil. So, however they feel, if that’s something they want to explore, I’m down nonetheless.

What’s the story behind your stage name, Young Mazino?

I’m a big fan of the book Tower of God, and Mazino is a character in that story. It’s about a tower where, if you can manage to climb to the top level, whatever your desire is, whatever your aspirations are, it’ll be given to you. Do you want to be powerful? Do you want to be rich? Whatever you want. If you can get to the top of the tower, you’ll have it all. But you have to go through trials and tribulations to climb this ladder. And Mazino is a character who essentially doesn’t give a shit about the tower itself. He lives in the tower, but he wants to leave. He just wants to experience the night sky.

So, when I was working in a corporate office and going to drama school and cultivating myself as an artist all at the same time, I had such a dichotomy of life. I was in this business analyst position in New York doing corporate finance for a luxury brand, crunching numbers, and then I’m doing Shakespeare and diving into the human condition. So, I felt such a strong compartmentalization, and it felt like I was in my own tower of sorts. What I really wanted to do was get the hell out of there. And then Young is my Korean name. So, Young Mazino just felt right.

That’s very poetic.

I almost changed it back after Beef. Before the credits were being finalized, Sonny was like, “Nah, keep that shit. It sounds dope.”