“I made a real decision when I was, like, 11 that I wasn’t gonna be like a typical teenager,” says Bella Ramsey.
Talk about an understatement.
By the age of 13, Bella had already landed a role in Game of Thrones, then the biggest television show on the planet. Now 21, they’re speaking to BBC Newsbeat fresh off the red carpet premiere of The Last of Us Season 2 in London.
The HBO adaptation of the iconic PlayStation game was a smash hit, both critically and commercially, and catapulted Bella to the spotlight as a leading actor.
“I think it’s quite a unique experience,” Bella says, modestly.
Bella, who is originally from Nottingham, England, reprises their role as Ellie in the post-apocalyptic series where a deadly parasitic fungus—cordyceps—has devastated humanity, turning the infected into zombie-like creatures. Ellie, uniquely, is immune, and may be the key to humanity’s survival.
Spoiler alert: The following includes plot points from Season 1 of The Last of Us.
In the first season, Ellie’s bond with hardened survivor Joel (Pedro Pascal) evolved into a deep father-daughter dynamic as he escorted her across a crumbling America to a group of doctors working on a cure.
But when Joel discovers Ellie must die for a vaccine to be made, he refuses to lose her—killing the doctors and fleeing with her unconscious. When Ellie wakes, he lies about what happened.
Season one ended on a tense note, and Season 2 picks up five years later—with that tension still lingering.
“Obviously there’s tension in that relationship,” says Bella. “It was quite horrible to play.”
Bella admits the emotional scenes between Ellie and Joel were particularly tough, especially given their own close relationship with their father.
“So I never went through that with my dad,” Bella says. “Me and my dad are great.”
“So it was kind of sad to do that with Ellie and Joel.”
Still, they believe Ellie’s anger is entirely warranted.
“Ellie is very justified in her feelings about everything.”
In Season 2, Ellie is 19—close in age to Bella, who began filming the show’s first season in 2021. Production on Season 2 was delayed due to the 2023 Hollywood strikes, giving Bella time to grow both personally and professionally.
“It’s so fun getting to step back into a character but with kind of new revelations about her and about me in my own life,” Bella shares.
“There’s always like a merging of me and whatever character I’m playing and that happens times 10 with Ellie because I’m spending so much time in her skin.”
During that time, Bella also publicly revealed their autism diagnosis, which came while filming the show’s first season.
“It was something that I didn’t really think about too much before,” Bella begins.
“Actually, no, that’s a lie. I did, because I said that I was neurodiverse before, and then I was like, ‘Why don’t I just say what it actually is, which is, yeah, I’m autistic.’”
Coming out with their diagnosis has been empowering.
“It’s allowed me to be a bit more free,” Bella says, adding that they hope it inspires others.
“You can be in industries like this and openly say that you’re autistic, why there shouldn’t be sort of such a stigma around that and such a fear around that.”
“So I’m very proud to be able to say it out loud and also just to bring more awareness.”
“Autism comes in all different shapes and sizes, and I’m not someone that people would maybe typically see and go like ‘oh, you’re autistic’.”
Bella also identifies as non-binary and uses gender-neutral pronouns. Season 2 of The Last of Us delves deeper into Ellie’s identity, including her same-sex relationship with Dina, played by Isabella Merced.
“I feel like we’re still figuring out how to portray queer storylines in the media in a way that feels very authentic but that also feels very genuine in terms of the story,” says Bella.
“That’s what The Last of Us does so well, I think, with Ellie and Dina.”
“It doesn’t feel like it’s like representation added on top to check a box—it really feels like it’s just a part of the story.”
“So that was what was exciting about getting to portray this sort of relationship in this medium.”
The series has already been renewed for a third season following the positive reception to Season 2, meaning Ellie—and Bella—will continue to grow in the public eye.
“It comes with pros and cons,” Bella says.
“But it’s kind of lovely that my growth and development has been immortalised on-screen.”
“I feel very grateful for that.”
But even with all their experience, Bella says that growing up never stops being humbling.
“The more that you grow up, you just realise how little you know, I think,” they reflect. “And I think that’s something that Ellie is also discovering.”
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