Canadian actor Lamar Johnson on his Emmy nomination for HBO’s The Last of Us

Scarborough, Ont., actor Lamar Johnson says receiving an Emmy nomination is a testament to the hard work he’s put in since starting out as a self-taught dancer on the Canadian TVO kids’ series Pop It! before landing roles worthy of the highest esteem.

“I want to show people that a guy from Scarborough can dream big and have integrity while doing it,” said Johnson who on Wednesday earned his first Emmy nod in the guest actor category for a role in The Last of Us, the critically praised HBO horror-drama about a zombie pandemic.

“The first person I told was my mother and she was screaming because she knew the time I’ve put in my craft since I was a young dancer…we’re all just seeing what it took to get here and it’s been incredible.”

He attended Wexford Collegiate School for the Arts in the Toronto suburb, which led him towards dancing as a professional and the artistic milestones he’s reaching today.

He’ll compete for an Emmy against fellow The Last of Us cast members Murray Bartlett, Nick Offerman and Keivonn Montreal Woodard, who plays his little brother, as well as Succession guest actors James Cromwell and Arian Moayed.

‘One of the most influential experiences’

In the episode Johnson is nominated for, titled Endure and Survive, two brothers named Henry and Sam try to flee from the confines of a quarantine zone run by a ruthless radical leader played by Melanie Lynskey, who also received a guest actress Emmy nod for her part.

Johnson said he worked alongside Woodard, a 10-year-old actor who is deaf, to learn how to sign on the Calgary set and in the episode.

“It was challenging and one of the most influential experiences I’ve gone through,” said Johnson. “I had a director of ASL along with interpreters, and it helped with bringing depth to our relationship because there’s more to communication than words, there’s also body language.”

Johnson said he used his environment to get into character—both he and Woodard spent most of their hours on set in an attic in which the walls seemed to be falling apart. Outdoors, set designers decorated cracked pavements and greenery with vehicles that were decades old, further helping the actor get into the depressing space he needed to be in.

“I used it all, the script, writing — it was all so good,” Johnson said. “Especially as an actor, you want to tell stories that really move on the page.

“It wasn’t just me, everyone was there supporting each other,” he said about working with leads Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey.

“We knew the weight of the episode and we just wanted to be just available for each other through our different levels of experience.”

Up until this point, he’s given more than a decade to the business and was named one of TIFF’s 2018 rising stars. More recently, he earned a Canadian Screen Award for best performance in a leading role in Clement Virgo’s film Brother.

“It’s crazy, because I was reminded recently by a friend on how much I spoke about being in this position in school hallways,” Johnson said. “Being considered for a CSA award, Emmy or an Oscar is a space I’ve always wanted to be in and I’ve put in the time and energy to be here.”