The Last of Us Season 2 introduces several new cast members, including Danny Ramirez as Manny Alvarez. What else has Ramirez starred in before?
Season 2 of The Last of Us picks up five years after the end of Season 1, where Joel (Pedro Pascal) smuggles Ellie (Bella Ramsey) — a teen immune to the deadly Cordyceps virus that turns its victims into zombiesv— out of a quarantine zone and across the post-apocalyptic landscape of the U.S.
Note: Spoilers from “The Last of Us Season 2,” Episode 2 are revealed in the next two paragraphs.
In the season finale of The Last of Us Season 1, Joel, while saving Bella from the Fireflies during a deadly experimentation procedure, kills most of the members of the group including a doctor. After the doctor’s daughter, Abby (Kaitlyn Dever), comes across the carnage, she vows to kill Joel.
Accompanying Abby on her mission to kill Joel is Manny, who witnesses the brutal beating death of Joel firsthand. And while Abby, Manny and the rest of their group walk away from the execution unscathed, Ellie — who witnessed Abby finishing Joel off — vows to exact revenge on the perpetrator.
Born in 1992 in Chicago, Ramirez made his screen debut as “Moving Van Kid #1” in the Showtime drama The Affair in 2015. Two years later, Ramirez landed guest roles in the Netflix drama Orange is the New Black and the Fox TV/Marvel superhero drama The Gifted.
Ramirez’s other series credits include a recurring role on Netflix’s On My Block in 2018-19 and supporting roles in such films as Assassination Nation in 2018, Silo and The Giant in 2019 and Valley Girl in 2020. After that, Ramirez landed a pair of breakthrough roles in a major TV series and film — which explains part of the reason he looks so familiar.
‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’ (2021)
Even though he appeared in a guest role on the Fox TV/Marvel series The Gifted, Danny Ramirez’s career soared to new heights with a supporting role opposite The Falcon/Sam Wilson/Captain America (Anthony Mackie) and The Winter Soldier/Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) in the Disney+ Marvel Cinematic Universe miniseries The Falcon and the Winter Solider.
Ramirez plays Air Force 1st Lt. Joaquin Torres in The Falcon and the Winter Solider, who assists Sam in his investigation into the series’ foes the Flag Smashers. The series wasn’t a one-and-done job for Ramirez, though, as he would once again take flight with Mackie in big screen adventure in the MCU.
‘Top Gun: Maverick’ (2022)
Danny Ramirez reached for the skies once again in 2022 with his role as Naval aviator Lt. Mickey “Fanboy” Garcia the blockbuster action-adventure Top Gun: Maverick opposite Tom Cruise as Capt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell.
In the film, Garcia is recruited to fly a dangerous mission under the auspices of Maverick, alongside other expert pilots including Lt. Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw (Miles Teller), Lt. Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin (Glen Powell), Lt. Natasha ‘Phoenix’ Trace (Monica Barbaro), Lt. Javy ‘Coyote’ Machado (Greg Tarzan Davis) and Lt. Robert “Bob” Floyd.
‘Black Mirror’ (2023)
Danny Ramirez stars opposite Zazie Beetz in Netflix’s dystopian sci-fi series Black Mirror in the Season 6, Episode 4 titled Mazey Day.
Beetz and Ramirez play Bo and Hector, two members of a small group of heartless paparazzi who go on the hunt for a reclusive actor Mazey Day (Clara Rugaard) to capture a lucrative photograph, only to discover she is harboring a dark secret.
‘Captain America: Brave New World’ (2025)
Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) fulfills his destiny as Captain America and Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez) earns his wings as the new Falcon in Captain America: Brave New World.
The duo faces off against a new nemesis in the fourth Captain America film, who has close ties to President Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross (Harrison Ford). Mackie and Ramirez will check in for duty once again as Captain America and the Falcon in the hotly anticipated Marvel Cinematic Universe adventure Avengers: Doomsday on May 1, 2026.
Also starring Isabela Merced as Dina, Gabriel Luna as Tommy, Rutina Wesley as Maria, Young Mazino as Jesse and Jeffrey Wright as Isaac, Episodes 1 and 2 of The Last of Us Season 2 are airing on HBO and streaming on Max.
