Gaming is no longer just a hobby; it's a multi-billion dollar industry that has come to rival Hollywood in terms of production values when it comes to movie adaptations. As the world of gaming continues to grow, so does the importance of celebrity voice-over talent. And nobody understands this better than Merle Dandridge. You may recognize her as Grace Greenleaf from OWN Network's drama Greenleaf or Zarina from Apple+ series Truth Be Told, but long before those roles, Dandridge was already a celebrated voice-over actress, lending her talents to groundbreaking games like Half-Life 2 and The Last of Us.

For the HBO adaptation of Sony and Naughty Dog’s blockbuster survival horror, most of the original voice-over cast from the game returned in different roles. Dandridge was the only one to come back as Fireflies leader Marlene who tasks Joel (Pedro Pascal) with transporting Ellie (Bella Ramsey) across the United States in The Last of Us.

Speaking with BET, Dandridge gives insight into her career in voice acting and television alongside answering what makes HBO’s The Last of Us adaptation so unique.

BET.com: Do you remember being cast in and working on the original The Last of Us game before it became this huge sensation after releasing it in 2013?

Merle Dandridge: I was cast in 2012 and I remember it vividly. I remember the moment I met creator Neil Druckman and Troy Baker who voices Joel. I’d actually come in to do a scene with them like any theatrical audition. There was an energy in the room of just kindred. I felt safe with them. I felt like I’d found my tribe. I felt like I was locked step with people that I had just known forever. That’s how I knew that it was going to be a beautiful experience creatively. I couldn’t have even anticipated what was going to turn into because all I had I had were pages that I was given for the audition. I could not have anticipated how the rest of it would receive it.

BET.com: You're the only character from The Last of Us games to reprise their original character. How do you feel about the on-screen representation of Marlene compared to the original game?

Merle Dandridge: When I first got to set, of course, there's that weight of what you just said, which is being the only character to transition from mocap and voice acting to live action. I did put a lot of extra pressure on myself when in fact, the truth is Marlene is just inherently in me. I've carried this character with me for over a decade now. I know who she is, I know what she does. I know what she would do, and I love and trust and honor that. So I think the nerves that I had first stepping into her shoes and inhabiting her, gave way very quickly to the great thrill of being able to do that, to be able to carry a character that I love this far.

BET.com: It’s clear as day at this point that The Last of Us is considered 2023’s first great television debut. As someone with a history in both television and gaming, how has The Last of Us become such a huge pop culture moment in television as far as video game adaptations are concerned?

Merle Dandridge: As much experience as I have and am entrenched in the gaming world and how much affection I have for the gaming world, I'm not actually a gamer. I'm really bad for all of my eye-hand coordination with me being a fast typer and a pianist.  As much passion as I have for it, I'm not actually able to really take in a lot of other games than the ones that I'm involved in. So I don't know firsthand what other products are compared to how they've been adapted for the screen. But why do I think the last of us is successful? Because first, it's on the page. The story is extraordinary. What it's trying to put out into the world and how it's landing in people's hearts was inherently there from the inception of this world by Neil Druckman.

The way that it has been loved and transformed for the screen is again because it was on the page in the way that Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin adapted it.  The willingness to bring, say some of the original designers of the clickers to come and des design, help design the costumes for and prosthetics for the H B O to adapt those connective threads, and the desire to honor the original IP and peace that people fell in love with. But then the freedom to go off into a new realm because, and we've talked about it a lot, the fact that in this format in television, you don't have to stay. Joel and Ellie, through the entire narrative, we were able to explore so much more about what is happening in that world. I think that's one of the wonderful departures from the original story that is delighting the fans of the game and also obviously, I hope really touching the hearts and minds of people who have not experienced it before.

BET.com: However, your career in voice-over work began in what’s considered the greatest video game ever created, Half-Life 2, as Alyx Vance alongside having Robert Guillaume as your on-screen father. How does it feel to be a part of these pioneering gaming moments?

Merle Dandridge: Honestly, I love that you brought up Alex because I love Alex. I also bring up the first moment I met Neil Neil Druckman when I audition. He'd ask me if I have ever done any video game work before. And I was like, yeah. I mean I've done, at that point, I had done maybe one or two, but maybe only one of note. And he was like, can I name anything I might know? And I told him Half-Life 2 and he was like, oh, oh yeah, I know that one it.

I didn't know until we did press for the HBO series that Neil Druckman was a big fan of Alex Vance. And he knew that I was Alex Vance walking into the door and might be a big reason why he cast me as Marlene. So but I could probably credit Half-Life 2 and my wonderful experience bringing such a new, strong, smart, funny, interesting video game character that opened the door for my being able to play Marlene in so many iterations.

BET.com: Considering the roles you've played in Half Life 2 and The Last of Us or even Everybody's Gone to the Rapture, which earned you a British Academy Games Award, has your opinion on gaming as art changed over the decades?

Merle Dandridge: I’ve always loved the gaming world. Alex Vance and Half-Life 2 were my first roles in voice work. What an unbelievable entree into the world that I was so blessed and gifted by that storytelling and characters. Seeing the understanding and the technology and the passion for gaming expand feels like when your best friend gets their due. I think it’s about time people understand how wonderful the work is in this sector.

BET.com: You also play Zarina on Truth Be Told and Natasha Ross on Station 19. Do you have time to rest?

Merle Dandridge: Do I have time to rest? Well, this year I have three shows on the air at the same time so I didn’t rest last year. And, self-care is really important to me. It’s important to take time to nourish oneself. Then it’s also important to know when it’s go time that these fantastic characters were presented to me and I got to bring them to the screen. I have a show as a Black and Korean mixed-race woman at the top of her game actually speaking Korean on network television and breaking barriers and walls. Station 19 has me being the first female fire chief. Then there’s Truth Be Told and the story of Zarina, Marcus, and their daughter which tells this honest story of a family.

In the middle of all that is my beloved Marlene on screen and to be able to show new sides of her in the upcoming episodes that people have never seen in the games, to be able to show why she is and where from once she came. We've already gotten to see Marlene in new situations and her relationship with Ellie. All of these things are outstanding and wonderful and they felt important for me as Merle as a Black woman, as a Korean woman, to bring them to the screen now in this time. What a blessing. So when it's time to rest, I shall rest. I shall, shall, shall gold medal in resting.  But at the same time, to have this platform to say these things and to bring this representation is important. Very important. And I feel very honored to have that mantle.