Lamar Johnson didn't know he'd have to learn sign language when he landed The Last of Us

20:43Lamar Johnson: The Last of Us, Brother, and being honoured at this year’s Canadian Screen Awards

When Lamar Johnson landed the role of Henry Burrell on HBO's hit post-apocalyptic drama The Last of Us, there were a few things that caught him off guard. The first was the speed with which he got the role.

"I sent in a tape on Monday," the actor tells Q's Tom Power on today's show. "I think by Wednesday I got the call. I booked it by the weekend [and] I was on a flight heading to Calgary. It was pretty insane."

The second thing that caught Johnson off guard was the fact that he had to learn a whole new language for the role. In the series, Henry's younger brother, Sam, is deaf, as is the actor who plays him, Keivonn Woodard. 

"There were moments in the script where there's this paragraph, but in brackets at the top, it says 'in sign,'" he says. "And I was like, 'Wait, in sign? What do you mean?'"

Johnson says that for his first few months in Calgary, he made learning ASL his number one priority.

"When I flew to Calgary to shoot they set me up instantly with the director of ASL and I got to work," he says. "For the first couple months, if I wasn't on set, I was at home doing homework and doing sign training on Zoom, recording myself doing sign, and just doing that homework and repetition."

He adds that it was important, not just for the role, but so he could communicate with his co-star.

"The relationship between us is so, so, so important," Johnson says. "I knew that I would have to at least know the basics in order for us to interact and communicate. So I really, really drilled it…. Of course it was challenging, but on the other side of a challenge is growth. And I was able to grow through this process and find a new way to communicate non-verbally. I think it was so powerful and it allowed me to connect in such a beautiful way that I think really translated on screen."

The full interview with Lamar Johnson is available on our podcast, Q with Tom Power. He also talks about his acclaimed performance in Clement Virgo's film Brother and being honoured at this year's Canadian Screen Awards. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

Interview with Lamar Johnson produced by Lise Hosein.