‘The Last of Us’ Cameo You Probably Missed in Last Week’s Episode

If you were bawling your eyes out by the time the credits started rolling on “Through the Valley,” last Sunday’s episode of The Last of Us (Season 2, Episode 2), you might have have missed a sneaky cameo from a key character from the show—as well as the video game it’s based on.

No, we’re not talking about Jennifer Aniston, but we certainly clocked that fun blink-and-you’ll-miss-it appearance (as did the Friends actress herself). The actor in question: Ashley Johnson.

Related: ‘The Last of Us’ Star Kaitlyn Dever’s 4-Word Response to Last Week’s Episode

Johnson, 41, first rose to fame as a child actor. From 1990 to 1992, she played Chrissy Seaver—the youngest child in the Seaver family, and an unexpected addition—in the hit sitcom Growing Pains. Johnson has worked steadily ever since, with memorable roles in ginormous movies including The Avengers (2012). But where she has really found a niche is in the video game world.

Within that genre, Johnson’s most prominent role may very well be the role of Ellie in The Last of Us, where she both voiced the character and provided the motion capture performance. She did the same for that game’s follow-up, The Last of Us Part II.

While Bella Ramsey took over the role when the game was adapted for HBO, Johnson made a one-episode appearance in The Last of Us’ first season. In a flashback scene, she played Anna, Ellie’s mom, who somehow finds a way to safely deliver her baby girl into the world while fighting off a flock of Cordyceps-infected humans.

It was a powerful performance, though it only garnered Johnson a few minutes of screen time. But if you rewatch the last few minutes of last weekend’s “Through the Valley” episode, you’ll hear Johnson’s latest contribution to the hit TV series: a haunting cover of Shawn James’ “Through the Valley” to close out the gut-wrenching episode.