Halley Gross

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Halley Gross
Halley Gross, The Last of Us Part II, Outbreak Day 2019 (cropped).jpg
Gross in September 2019
Born (1985-12-27) December 27, 1985 (age 39)
Sanibel, Florida, U.S.
Alma mater New York University
Occupations
  • Screenwriter
  • actress
Years active1995–present

Halley Wegryn Gross (born December 27, 1985) is an American screenwriter and actress. She is best known for writing two 2016 episodes of the HBO series Westworld and co-writing the 2020 video game The Last of Us Part II .

Contents

Early life

Halley Wegryn Gross was born in Sanibel, Florida, [1] [2] on December 27, 1985, [3] [4] the only child of Heidi Wegryn and David Robert Gross (1935–2014), both attorneys. [5] [6] [7] She grew up in New Jersey, [8] including in New Vernon, [9] and attended Pingry School, graduating in 2004. [5] [10] From the age of 10, [6] she was a child actress who made appearances on Law & Order and later wanted to become a comedian while in college, but found that comedy made her uncomfortable. [8] She attended the Gallatin School of Individualized Study at New York University (NYU) as an undergraduate. [8] She graduated with a degree in creative writing in 2008 and then gained a master's degree in dramaturgy from NYU in 2010. [11]

Career

Acting

Gross worked as an actress and appeared onstage in a 2005 production of Hurlyburly , [12] a 2011 production of The Metal Children, [13] and a 2012 production of A Midsummer Night's Dream . [14]

Writing

She had her breakthrough as a writer and story editor for two 2016 episodes of the HBO television series Westworld. [15] She was also a writer for two episodes of the 2019 Amazon miniseries Too Old to Die Young . [16] In 2020, she co-wrote the video game The Last of Us Part II with Neil Druckmann. [17] The game won multiple awards, some of which were awarded to Gross and Druckmann for their writing. [18] [19] [20] [21] The game also broke the record for the most Game of the Year awards received by a single game. [22] Gross joined the writers' room of the second season of the television adaptation of The Last of Us, [23] which adapts part of the events of The Last of Us Part II. [24] She co-wrote the sixth and seventh episodes with Druckmann and Craig Mazin. [25] Gross stepped away from writing duties on the HBO series in July 2025. [26]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleNotes
2024 Trigger Warning Rewrote script by John Brancato and Josh Olson

Television

YearTitleEpisode(s)
2015 Banshee "Snakes and Whatnot"
2016 Westworld "The Adversary" and "Trompe L'Oeil"; also story editor
2017 Emerald City "Everybody Lies"
2019 Too Old to Die Young "Volume 9: The Empress" and "Volume 10: The World"
2024 Batman: Caped Crusader "The Stress of Her Regard" and "Nocturne"
2025 The Last of Us "The Price" and "Convergence" (with Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin); [25] also co-executive producer

Video games

YearTitleNotes
2020 The Last of Us Part II Co-writer, narrative lead
TBA Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet AJ (acting role)

Accolades

DateAward / PublicationCategoryWorkResultRef.
November 24, 2020 Golden Joystick Awards Best Storytelling The Last of Us Part II Won [18]
December 10, 2020 The Game Awards Best NarrativeWon [19]
December 12, 2020 Titanium Awards Best Narrative DesignWon [27]
December 22, 2020 IGN Best Video Game StoryWon [28]
March 20, 2021 SXSW Gaming Awards Excellence in NarrativeWon [29]
April 8, 2021 D.I.C.E. Awards Outstanding Achievement in Story Won [20]
July 21, 2021 Game Developers Choice Awards Best NarrativeWon [21]
April 14, 2024 Writers Guild of America Awards New Series The Last of Us Won [30]
Drama Series Nominated
September 7, 2025 Humanitas Prize Drama TeleplayNominated [31]

References

  1. ↑ Carlson, Jen (June 23, 2005). "Halley Wegryn Gross, Hurlyburly" . Gothamist . Archived from the original on December 9, 2022. Retrieved January 20, 2025.
  2. ↑ Gross, Halley [@grosstastic]; (September 8, 2017). "Fretting about Sanibel right now. My grandfather was the island doctor, my dad's cousin was the chief of police. I was born there". Archived from the original on January 19, 2025. Retrieved January 20, 2025– via Instagram.
  3. ↑ Gross, Halley [@grosstastic]; (December 27, 2013). "Getting older could be worse. Thanks for all the birthday wishes!". Archived from the original on January 19, 2025. Retrieved January 20, 2025– via Instagram.
  4. ↑ Barnes, Brooks; Sperling, Nicole (May 3, 2023). "Outside Hollywood Studios, Writers Make Their Case" . The New York Times . Archived from the original on May 3, 2023. Retrieved January 20, 2025.
  5. 1 2 Freeman, Allison (December 12, 2001). "Teen actress makes her off-Broadway bow". The Star-Ledger . p. 35. Retrieved January 20, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
  6. 1 2 Freeman, Allison (December 12, 2001). "Teen actress makes off-Broadway bow". The Star-Ledger . p. 39. Archived from the original on January 19, 2025. Retrieved January 20, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ "David Robert Gross". The Star-Ledger . August 19, 2014. p. 14. Archived from the original on January 19, 2025. Retrieved January 20, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
  8. 1 2 3 Martens, Todd (June 18, 2020). "Inside 2020's most anticipated — and targeted — game: violence, a virus, an LGBTQ love story". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
  9. ↑ Freeman, Allison (July 7, 2004). "new Vernon teen Off-Broadway". The Star-Ledger . p. 42. Archived from the original on January 19, 2025. Retrieved January 20, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ Freeman, Allison (February 26, 2005). "Halley in 'Hurly'". The Star-Ledger . p. 10. Archived from the original on January 19, 2025. Retrieved January 20, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "Halley Wegryn Gross - Biography". IMDb. Retrieved May 30, 2019.
  12. ↑ "Marin Ireland and Amanda Seyfried to Join Ethan Hawke and Parker Posey for Hurlyburly | TheaterMania". April 23, 2015.
  13. ↑ "The Metal Children — Theater Review". The Hollywood Reporter . October 14, 2010.
  14. ↑ Isherwood, Charles (April 30, 2012). "Foolish Mortals, Naughty Fairies: The Usual Mischief". The New York Times.
  15. ↑ "Writing The Apocalypse: Talking To Halley Gross Of The Last Of Us Part II". CGMagazine. Archived from the original on January 16, 2021. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
  16. ↑ Schindel, Dan (July 22, 2019). "A Comics Convention Sets the Stage for a Layered Crime Story". Hyperallergic. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  17. ↑ "The Last of Us 2 Brings on Westworld Writer; Story Described as "Intense"". GameSpot. Retrieved May 30, 2019.
  18. 1 2 Tyrer, Ben (November 24, 2020). "Every winner at the Golden Joystick Awards 2020". GamesRadar . Future plc. Archived from the original on November 24, 2020. Retrieved November 25, 2020.
  19. 1 2 Stedman, Alex (December 10, 2020). "The Game Awards 2020: Complete Winners List". Variety . Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on December 11, 2020. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  20. 1 2 Denzer, TJ (April 22, 2021). "The D.I.C.E. Awards 2021 winners & finalists". Shacknews . Gamerhub. Archived from the original on April 22, 2021. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
  21. 1 2 Beresford, Trilby (July 21, 2021). "'Hades' Takes Top Honor at Game Developers Choice Awards". The Hollywood Reporter . MRC. Archived from the original on July 22, 2021. Retrieved July 22, 2021.
  22. ↑ Wald, Heather (January 26, 2021). "The Last of Us 2 overtakes The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt to become the most awarded game ever". GamesRadar+ . Future plc. Archived from the original on January 26, 2021. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
  23. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (July 14, 2023). "'The Last Of Us': Co-Creator Craig Mazin Provides Season 2 Status Update, Rules Out Another Bill & Frank Episode, Reveals Season 3 Plans". Archived from the original on July 15, 2023. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
  24. ↑ Hibberd, James (January 4, 2023). "How 'The Last of Us' Plans to Bring the Zombie Genre Back to Life". The Hollywood Reporter . Archived from the original on January 4, 2023. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
  25. 1 2 "The Last of Us". Writers Guild of America West. Archived from the original on January 19, 2025. Retrieved January 20, 2025.
  26. ↑ Otterson, Joe (June 2, 2025). "Last of Us Shocker: Neil Druckmann Exits HBO Series Ahead of Season 3". Variety . Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on July 2, 2025. Retrieved July 3, 2025.
  27. ↑ Soriano, David (December 12, 2020). "Todos los ganadores de los Premios Titanium de Fun & Serious Game Festival" [All winners of the Fun & Serious Game Festival Titanium Awards]. IGN España (in Spanish). Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on December 12, 2020. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  28. ↑ "The Best Video Game Story of 2020". IGN . Ziff Davis. December 22, 2020. Archived from the original on December 16, 2020. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  29. ↑ Ankers, Adele (March 21, 2021). "SXSW Gaming Awards 2021 Winners Announced: Hades Awarded Video Game of the Year". IGN . Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on March 21, 2021. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
  30. ↑ "2025 Writers Guild Awards Nominees & Winners". awards.wga.org. Retrieved July 10, 2025.
  31. ↑ Schneider, Michael (July 9, 2025). "Humanitas Prize Nominations Include 'The Pitt,' 'The Last of Us,' 'The Studio'; Fortune Feimster Set to Host (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved July 10, 2025.
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