Hana Hayes

Birth Date: 29/03/1999

Hana Lani Hayes, born March 29, 1999, in Tucson, Arizona, began performing in musical theater at age eight before relocating to Los Angeles to pursue screen work. Best known for voicing Sarah Miller in The Last of Us (2013), playing Lizzie Sanderson in The Grinder, and appearing in Insidious: The Last Key, this seiyuu-adjacent performer built her career across gaming, television, and film with motion capture and voice work at its core.

Hana Hayes’s Breakthrough in Gaming and Television

At just 14 years old, Hana Hayes stepped into one of the most emotionally charged openings in video game history. Her dual role as voice actor and motion capture performer for Sarah Miller in Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us (2013) required her to carry the weight of an entire narrative’s emotional setup – a post-apocalyptic sequence that players still cite as one of gaming’s most affecting moments. Directed personally by Neil Druckmann, her performance set the tone for a title that redefined the medium’s storytelling standards.

Most Known Roles of Hana Hayes

- Sarah Miller – The Last of Us (Video Game, 2013)
- Lizzie Sanderson – The Grinder (Fox, 2015-2016)
- Tessa – T@gged (Hulu, Season 3)
- Young Elise Rainer – Insidious: The Last Key (2018)
- Tammy Lynch – Bucket and Skinner’s Epic Adventures (Nickelodeon, 2011-2013)
- English Voice – A Letter to Momo (Animation, 2011)

The Last of Us and the Weight of Sarah Miller

What made Hayes’s work in The Last of Us stand out was the combination of voice performance and full-body motion capture – a demanding process that requires physical and emotional commitment simultaneously. Sarah appears only in the game’s prologue, yet the character’s impact anchors the entire narrative that follows. Hayes delivered that impact at an age when most young performers are still doing school plays. The role drew attention from both gaming audiences and the broader entertainment industry, helping establish her as a performer capable of handling emotionally complex material well beyond her years.

Television Work and The Grinder

Landing a series regular role on a network comedy opposite Rob Lowe and Fred Savage marked a significant step forward. As Lizzie Sanderson in Fox’s The Grinder (2015-2016), Hayes held her own in an ensemble that leaned heavily on comedic timing and dry wit – a different muscle group entirely from motion capture performance. The show ran for one full season before cancellation, but her work there extended a track record that already included guest appearances on Criminal Minds, Law and Order: SVU, Grey’s Anatomy, and S.W.A.T. Her role in Insidious: The Last Key (2018) as young Elise Rainer added horror to a resume that had already touched action-adventure gaming, network comedy, and teen drama.