Ellen Page feels Naughty Dog ripped off her likeness for The Last of Us

Back when Naughty Dog’s latest game, The Last of Us, was still in development, the original design for female protagonist Ellie seemed to look a bit like Hard Candy and Inception actor Ellen Page. The actor has voiced her displeasure about this in a Reddit AMA session.

“I guess I should be flattered that they ripped off my likeness, but I am actually acting in a video game called Beyond Two Souls, so it was not appreciated,” she said on Reddit as an answer to a question that asked if she would have taken up the role of Ellie had she been approached by Naughty Dog.

The new design has more in common with the character’s voice actor

However, Naughty Dog has since changed the design of Ellie when Quantic Dreams announced its collaboration with the actor on the upcoming Beyond: Two Souls. In the redesign, the character looks closer to voice actor Ashley Johnson than Ellen Page.

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The Last of Us revolves around two characters—Joel and Ellie—who must do their best to survive the apocalypse.

The Last of Us hit store shelves earlier this month and was widely applauded by critics for its deep characterisation and unique take on a post-apocalyptic world. Check out our review.

As mentioned in our review, everything from character models (even those who aren’t the main characters) to weapons has been painstakingly detailed. In a year that’s seen Crysis 3, Metro: Last Light and Tomb Raider, it’s quite amusing that a game exclusive to more than seven-year-old hardware is a frontrunner for the best-looking game to hit this console generation.