Open Post: Hosted By The Actor Who Played The Bloater On “The Last Of Us” Reacting To The Character’s Sex Daddy Status
HBO’s The Last Of Us isn’t just a show about middle-aged gay men falling in love after a mass fungal infection kills off most of the world. It’s also about zombies. Oops, they don’t call them zombies. In this world, they’re referred to as “runners, stalkers, clickers, and bloaters.” Bloaters were introduced in last week’s episode. Well, just one, played by 6’6″ British stuntman Adam Basil. In a recent interview with Entertainment Tonight, Adam shared his thoughts on the Internet turning his thoughts on the mutated mushroom monster becoming a “bit of a sex icon” on the Internet. Obviously, SPOILERS for Episode 5 lie ahead…
In the episode, Joel (Pedro Pascal [mmmm]) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) are trying to get the fuck out of Kansas City, which has been taken over by a rebellion led by Kathleen (Melanie Lynskey). During a showdown on a cul-de-sac, a truck gets shot at and drives into a house. The crash triggers the ground to cave in, and out come hundreds of zombies! It’s good fun. Until the big, mean Bloater emerges from the sinkhole. Then it’s sexy fun. At least according to fans on the Internet. I… sort of don’t blame them? He’s tall and thick (sorry, “thicc”)! The Bloater’s actor tells EW that people are actually sliding into his DMs:
“He seems to be a bit of a sex icon,” Basil tells EW over Zoom from his flat, noting all the memes and GIFs this creature has spawned since debuting on Sunday. “He’s captured a lot of people’s imaginations. Someone asked me if I’d come to their wedding. I’ve had people sending me love messages. He really brought out something in people that I don’t think even they knew they had. He’s the big daddy mushroom, I think there’s been a [meme].”
In Adam’s big scene, the Bloater crawled out of the hole, smashed some skulls, took some bullets, and then effortlessly separated a character’s head from his body. Then, Ellie and Joel left the scene:
“Hopefully the Bloater will be back,” Basil says, noting how The Last of Us has been renewed for season 2. “I mean, he ran off into the night. It’s Valentine’s Day. Maybe he was off to meet the Bloater of his dreams. Maybe that’s what he was. It’s hard to top that just ’cause of how much he’s captured everyone’s imaginations” — and his DMs.
Here’s a better look at the Bloater:
And here’s Adam sans Bloater-suit:
Hmmm… I can’t decide between Real Adam and Bloater Adam. I honestly think Real Adam is too intimidating with those abs. Gimme that dad bod and Bloater gut over perfectly sculpted muscles any day of the week.
Pics: BauerGriffin/INSTARimages/Cover Images & HBO