The actor was diagnosed with cancer in 2020
Annie Wersching, who played Tess in the original The Last of Us video game, has died of cancer. The actor was 45 years old.
Best known to the gaming community for playing Tess, Wersching also had a successful career on TV, appearing on two seasons of 24 as Renee Walker, on the Amazon detective show Bosch, and most recently in the second season of Star Trek: Picard as the Borg Queen. According to Deadline, Wersching continued to work after receiving her cancer diagnosis in 2020.
The creators of The Last of Us TV show, Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann, said they would dedicate last night’s moving third episode of the show to Wersching.
“Tonight’s episode has become particularly poignant in a way we would have never hoped or wished for, and we are dedicating it to Annie’s memory,” Mazin and Druckmann said. “It may be too late to get that on screen for tonight, but we will work to get it done as soon as we can.”
Druckmann, who also co-created the game, paid further tribute on Twitter. “We just lost a beautiful artist and human being. My heart is shattered. Thoughts are with her loved ones,” he said.
Among many others paying tribute to Wersching was her 24 co-star Kiefer Sutherland. “[She] was one of the greatest actors I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with, and my friend. My heart breaks for her young family. May she be remembered for the beautiful person that she was,” he said.
Wersching is survived by her husband, actor Stephen Full, and three sons. In a statement, Full said, “There is a cavernous hole in the soul of this family today. But she left us the tools to fill it. She found wonder in the simplest moment. She didn’t require music to dance. She taught us not to wait for adventure to find you. ‘Go find it. It’s everywhere.’ And find it we shall.”
A GoFundMe has been set up to support Wersching’s family.