It was 2011. The world just got its first look at a gritty, fungal apocalypse game called The Last of Us. Fans went wild, but they weren't just talking about the Clickers. They were talking about the girl. Ellie. Specifically, how she looked exactly like the star of Juno and Inception.
People didn't just see a resemblance; they were convinced it was her. The internet basically decided ellen page as ellie was a done deal.
Except, it wasn't. Honestly, it turned into one of the weirdest legal and PR headaches in gaming history.
The Likeness That Launched a Thousand Reddit Threads
When the debut trailer dropped at the VGAs, the character model for Ellie had a very specific look. The upturned nose. The wide, expressive eyes. Even the slightly snarky, "I've seen too much" teenage energy felt ripped straight from a Page performance.
It was a mess.
Naughty Dog, the developers, found themselves in a corner. Why? Because while everyone was looking at Ellie, the real actor was actually busy working on a completely different PlayStation exclusive: Beyond: Two Souls.
"It was not appreciated"
In a 2013 Reddit AMA, the actor—who has since come out as trans and is now Elliot Page—didn't hold back when asked about the resemblance.
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"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."
That one sentence sent the gaming press into a tailspin. "Ripped off" is a heavy phrase in the world of intellectual property. It wasn't just about a passing resemblance; it was about the fact that a major studio was potentially using a celebrity's face to sell a multimillion-dollar product without paying for it.
The Stealth Redesign
Naughty Dog denied it, of course. They claimed any similarity was a total coincidence. But actions speak louder than press releases.
Before the game actually hit shelves in 2013, Ellie went under the knife. Digital knife, anyway. Her face was tweaked. Her eyes were changed, her facial structure was adjusted, and her freckles were softened.
Neil Druckmann, the game's creative director, told Eurogamer at the time that the change was made to make the character look more like her actual voice and motion-capture actor, Ashley Johnson. He said they wanted Ellie to look "a bit younger" and more fitting for the story.
Kinda convenient timing, right?
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Most people didn't even notice the change until they saw side-by-side comparisons of the 2011 trailer and the 2013 launch version. The "new" Ellie still looked a little familiar, but she finally had her own identity. She became the Ellie we know today—the one who would go on to lead The Last of Us Part II and become a cultural icon in her own right.
Why the Confusion Still Lingers in 2026
Even now, over a decade later, the ghost of this controversy still haunts Google search results. You've probably seen the "fan casts" or the deepfakes.
There are a few reasons why we can't let it go:
- The Name: Ellen and Ellie? It’s a bit on the nose.
- The Timing: Both The Last of Us and Beyond: Two Souls were massive Sony exclusives released in the same era.
- The Persona: Both the actor and the character specialized in that "vulnerable but tough-as-nails" archetype.
When the HBO show was announced, the cycle started all over again. People were still screaming for Page to be cast, ignoring the fact that Ellie is 14 in the first game and the actor was well into their 30s by then. Plus, there was clearly some lingering bad blood—or at least some awkwardness—from the 2013 "likeness" comment.
Did Naughty Dog Actually Do Something Illegal?
Legally, it’s a grey area. In California, where Naughty Dog is based, there are strict "Right of Publicity" laws. You can’t just use someone’s face to sell a product.
But where does "inspiration" end and "likeness" begin?
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If Page had sued, it would have been a landmark case. Most experts at the time thought it wouldn't have gone far because Ellie was a stylized, 3D character, not a photo-realistic scan. However, by changing the model, Naughty Dog basically dodged a bullet. They protected their brand and allowed Ashley Johnson’s incredible performance to take center stage without the distraction of a celebrity look-alike.
What You Should Take Away From This
If you're still looking for the "original" Ellie, you can find her in those early 2011 trailers. But the version of the character that changed gaming forever belongs to Ashley Johnson.
Key Insights for Fans:
- The redesign worked: The final Ellie feels more "real" and less like a celebrity caricature.
- The actor's frustration was valid: Being the face of one game while people think you're the face of a competitor’s game is a professional nightmare.
- Respect the performers: While the visual resemblance was there, the soul of Ellie—the jokes, the whistling, the heartbreak—came entirely from Johnson.
If you really want to see the performance the actor actually gave to the gaming world, go play Beyond: Two Souls. It’s a wild, David Cage-led ride that uses full facial motion capture to show what Page was really working on while the rest of us were arguing about Ellie's nose.
Check out the original 2011 VGA trailer for The Last of Us and compare it to the Part I remake footage. You’ll see exactly how far the character has evolved away from that initial "Juno" inspiration into something entirely unique.