Javier Miller

Javier Miller
Biographical information
Status	Unknown
Gender	Male
Occupation(s)	Police officer
Affiliation(s)	Austin Police Department
Relationships	Unnamed father Unnamed mother Joel Miller (eldest son) Tommy Miller (youngest son) Maria Miller (daughter-in-law) Sarah Miller (granddaughter) Benji Miller (grandson)
Resides	Austin, Texas
Hair color	Black (graying)
Eye color	Brown
Behind the scenes
Appears in	HBO's The Last of Us (season 2)
Portrayed by	Tony Dalton

“

I don't know... but I'm doing a little better than my father did. And you know, when it's your turn, I hope you do a little better than me. ―Javier to his son Joel.

”

Javier Miller is a supporting character in the second season of HBO's The Last of Us. He is the father of Joel and Tommy Miller and lived in Austin, Texas, where he worked as a police officer.

Biography

Background

Javier was born and raised in Austin, Texas. He grew up in a tough household, as his father would abuse him whenever he misbehaved.

When he was 10, Javier stole a candy bar while at a store with his parents. His father made him return it and apologize to the cashier. However, when they returned home, before he exited the car, his father punched him in the face and broke his jaw so bad that there was blood everywhere, with his mother thinking he was dead at first. Javier spent two months with his mouth wired shut as a result, with everyone at school and in their community knowing the reason why, bringing further shame to him.

Javier eventually grew up to become a police officer, and ended up having two sons, Joel and Tommy. Despite loving his sons, Javier went onto abuse his sons when they misbehaved, just like what his father did to him. However, he ensured he never hit them as hard as his father did to him, believing he was being a better parent to them, if only by a little. While in the police force, he also obtained a watch and regularly wore it.

Events of HBO's The Last of Us

Season 2

In 1983, Joel and Tommy got into trouble when Joel beat up a teenager that ripped Tommy off when he tried buying weed from him. Having been called to the scene, Javier learned what had happened from the beaten boy. Despite the punishment for Joel being imprisonment for how badly he hurt the boy, Javier was able to use his influence to keep his sons from going to jail.

That night, Javier went home while on break from his shift and spoke with Joel in the kitchen. Joel attempted to cover up for Tommy, but Javier revealed he already knew the truth. Joel remained defiant, insisting he would not let Javier hurt Tommy. Javier then grabbed two beers from the fridge for both of them and sat down with Joel. He then told Joel the story of his father breaking his jaw. He explained to Joel that though he has abused his sons, he tries to be better than his father was and expresses to Joel that he hopes he will try a little bit harder than he did when he has kids of his own. Javier then patted his son on the back and left to go back on patrol.

Years later, Joel still remembered his father, keeping the wristwatch he had after his own daughter Sarah repaired it. He also remembered his father's words to him about trying to be a better father than him, passing on those same words to Ellie in 2029.

Physical appearance

Javier was a tall middle aged man. He had a black mustache and typically wore his police officer uniform on duty. He also had a Stetson as well. He also wore a watch, one which his eldest son Joel would inherit by 2003.

Personality

Having grown up in a tough household, with his father physically abusing him, Javier became a broken man who inflicted the same abusive behavior towards his sons. However, despite mistreating them, Javier was aware that what he was doing to them was wrong and felt horrible because of it. He told Joel that was trying to be a "little better" than his father was to him and advised him to be a little bit better than him if he ever became a father and raise his children with the love he could not receive during his childhood. Despite being unhappy with his sons' involvement with the last incident, it is implied that he finally regretted his actions and convinces Joel not to make the same mistake as he did.

Relationships

Joel Miller

Joel is the eldest son of Javier. Having subjected Joel to physical punishment as a child, Javier saw that as the only way to try and control his behaviour, especially his tendency to get into fights with other boys. However, upon recognising how Joel felt about it, especially in his defiance towards Tommy suffering the same punishment, Javier opened up to Joel about his guilt in harming his own sons and how he hoped Joel would treat his own children better than he has. Joel would remember these words from his father, still thinking about them when raising Ellie in 2029.

Tommy Miller

Tommy is the youngest son of Javier. Javier subjected him to physical punishment whenever he misbehaved and especially when engaging in illegal activities like drug dealing. This abuse led Tommy to fear Javier and seek help from Joel to protect him from their father's anger.

Behind the scenes

Tony Dalton, the actor who portrays Javier.

• Javier is portrayed by Mexican-American actor Tony Dalton. Dalton is also set to appear as a yet-to-be-announced member of the Five Aces in Naughty Dog's upcoming PlayStation 5 game Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, their newest franchise since The Last of Us in 2013. He got his role in Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet after impressing Neil Druckmann while recording his scenes for The Last of Us.

Appearances

• HBO's The Last of Us
  • Season 2
    • Episode 6: "The Price" (first appearance; flashback)