‘The Last of Us’ 10-year-old Actor Makes Emmy History as Youngest Ever Honored in Category

After capturing the hearts of The Last of Us fans, Keivonn Montreal Woodard is now making history.

At just 10 years old, this budding actor has received an Emmy nomination for his outstanding performance as a guest actor in a drama series, making him the youngest person ever to be recognized in this category.

Woodard — who is deaf — played a young deaf apocalypse survivor named Sam.

The character was a departure from The Last of Us game which served as the HBO drama’s source material and won praise from fans and showrunners Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann.

Mazin expressed his astonishment on HBO’s The Last of Us podcast, saying, “I have never experienced a situation where a child, who had little previous experience in acting on screen, could perform so naturally and brilliantly. It was a delight to work with him, and he exceeded all expectations. He is incredibly talented, and I am eagerly looking forward to witnessing more of his work. I hope that when people watch this episode, especially those in Hollywood and the entertainment industry, they don’t just appreciate his exceptional portrayal of Sam, but also recognize that he deserves many more opportunities in the future.”