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 38)
Occupations
  • Screenwriter
  • actress
Years active2006–present

Halley Wegryn Gross (born December 27, 1985) is an American screenwriter and former 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 Fort Myers, Florida, on December 27, 1985. She grew up in New Jersey. 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. [1] She attended the Gallatin School of Individualized Study at New York University (NYU) as an undergraduate. [1] She graduated with a degree in creative writing in 2008 and then gained a master's degree in dramaturgy from NYU in 2010. [2]

Career

Before moving into screenwriting, Gross worked as an actress and appeared onstage in a 2005 production of Hurlyburly , [3] a 2011 production of The Metal Children, [4] and a 2012 production of A Midsummer Night's Dream . [5] She had her breakthrough as a writer and story editor for two 2016 episodes of the HBO television series Westworld. [6] She was also a writer for two episodes of the 2019 Amazon miniseries Too Old to Die Young . [7] In 2020, she co-wrote the video game The Last of Us Part II with Neil Druckmann. [8] The game went on to win multiple awards, some of which were awarded to Gross and Druckmann for their writing. The game also broke the record for the most Game of the Year awards received by a single game.[ citation needed ] Gross is working on the second season of the television adaptation of The Last of Us, [9] expected to adapt the events of The Last of Us Part II. [10]

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 TBA (season 2)

Video games

YearTitleNotes
2020 The Last of Us Part II Co-writer, narrative lead

Accolades

DateAward / PublicationCategoryWorkResultRef.
November 24, 2020 Golden Joystick Awards Best Storytelling The Last of Us Part II Won [11]
December 10, 2020 The Game Awards Best NarrativeWon [12]
December 12, 2020 Titanium Awards Best Narrative DesignWon [13]
December 22, 2020 IGN Best Video Game StoryWon [14]
March 20, 2021 SXSW Gaming Awards Excellence in NarrativeWon [15]
April 8, 2021 D.I.C.E. Awards Outstanding Achievement in Story Won [16]
July 21, 2021 Game Developers Choice Awards Best NarrativeWon [17]

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References

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