O’Hara died Friday at 71.

Pedro Pascal remembers late The Last of Us costar Catherine O’Hara: ‘Genius to be near you’

O'Hara died Friday at 71.

By Emlyn Travis

Emlyn Travis is a news writer at **. She has been working at EW since 2022. Her work has previously appeared on MTV News, Teen Vogue, and *NME*.

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January 30, 2026 3:04 p.m. ET

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Pedro Pascal in 2024; Catherine O'Hara in 2024. Credit:

Samir Hussein/WireImage; Hoda Davaine/Dave Benett/WireImage

Pedro Pascal is paying tribute to his late* The Last of Us *costar Catherine O'Hara. **

The actor, 50, remembered O'Hara in a poignant Instagram post on Friday following news of the actress' death at 71. **

"Oh, genius to be near you. Eternally grateful. There is less light in my world, this lucky world that had you, will keep you, always. Always," Pascal wrote. "The one and ONLY #CatherineOHara."

Pedro Pascal's Joel, Catherine O'Hara's Gail in 'The Last of Us' season 2.

Liane Hentscher/HBO

Alongside his message, Pascal also included a snapshot of himself and O'Hara hugging each other and smiling while on the set of the Emmy-winning video game adaptation.

*The Last of Us* co-creator Craig Mazin also honored the actress in his own statement. "Catherine O'Hara was not only a legend, she was one of the most decent people I've ever known, much less worked with," he wrote. "We're all just devastated by this news. Our thoughts are with her family."**

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O'Hara joined the cast of *The Last Of Us *in its second season as Gail, a new character created specifically for the post-apocalyptic series who served as a therapist for Pascal's character, Joel, prior to his death.

Their pair's complicated relationship was highlighted over the course of the season, with Gail helping Joel navigate his difficult bond with Ellie (Bella Ramsey) while also carrying her own ire toward him for killing her infected husband, Eugene (Joe Pantoliano).

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O'Hara spoke with ** about shooting Joel and Gail's therapy sequences last April, calling it both a "really fun" and "very intense" experience. **

"Pedro, of course, was really fun to spend the day with and then very intense by the end where he's defending his life for some reason," she said. "It was kind of scary because you want to do a good job joining someone's great show like that. I wanted to rise to the occasion."

Speaking with *Variety* in May, O'Hara confirmed that Gail would not be making an appearance in the third season of *The Last of Us*. "Craig did say definitely not this next season," she said. "It's the Abby story."**

The next installment of the HBO series, set to air in 2027, will explore the previous season's events from the perspective of Kaitlyn Dever's character, Abby. Still, O'Hara didn't shut the door on the idea of returning in a later season.

"Maybe," she said. "But I think it was to serve Joel and Ellie."

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