BBC Newsbeat
Getty Images“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 Understatement.
By The Time Bella was 13, they had been cast in the World’s Biggest TV show at The Time, Thrones Game.
And when The Actor, Now 21 Years Old, Speaks To BBC Newsbeat, It’s The Night After Walking The Red Carpet at The Last Of The Last Of Us Season Two.
The Smash-Hit Adaptation Of The PlayStation Video Game Success of Critical and Ratings, Launching The Young Star to Leading Role Status.
“I Think It’s Quite a Unique Experience,” Bella, Who’s Originally From Nottingham, England, Modestly Admits.
The Rest of This Article Contains Spoilers For The Last Of Us Season One.
Bella, Who Uses Gender-Neutral Pronouns, Plays Ellie In The Hbo Drama, Set in A Post-Apocalyptic Future Where Humanity Hasen Almost Wiped Out by Cordyceps.
The Deadly Parasitic Fungus Turns Into Zombie-Like Creatures, But Ellie Is Immune From Infection and Is Humanity’s Last Hope for A Cure.
In The First Season Viewers Saw a Father-Daughter Relationship Slowly Blossom Ellie and Mercenary Joel, Pedro Pascal.
After Escorting the 14-year-old Dangerous Journey Across The USA to Working on the USA Docomers, It becomes Apparent Ellie Must Die for a Potential Remedy to Be Produced.
Rather Than Sacrifice Her, Joel Kills The Medics and Flees With The Unconscious Teenager.
When she awakes, he lies to her about what happened, and season One’s Cliffhanger Ending Leaves Viewers With The Strong Impression That Ellie Is Well Aware Of The Deception.
So when The New Season Begins, Five Years Later, “Obviously There’s Tension in That Relationship,” Says Bella.
“It’s to play Horrible.”
Young Bella’s Vow to Not Be A “Typical Teenager” Was Aptually About Their Career and More About Relationship With Their Paraents, They Say.
No Screaming Matches, No Slamming Doors.
“So I Never Went Through That With My Dad,” Says Bella. “Me and My Dad Are Great.”
“So It was Kind of Sad to do That with Ellie and Joel.”
But Bella Adds, Ellie “Is Very Justified In Her Feelings About Everything.”
Getty ImagesEllie is 19 in Season Two, not too much Younger Than Bella, Who Began Shooting The First Series Back in 2021.
Number Two Was Delayed by The 2023 Hollywood Strikes, So A Lot has Happened for Bella in the Meantime.
There’s Symmetry there.
“It’s So Fun Getting To Step Back Into Character But Life About New Revelations About My Own Life,” Says Bella.
“There’s Always Like A Merging of Me and Whatever Character I’m Playing and That Happens Times 10 With Ellie Because I’m Spender I’m Much Time In Her Skin.”
Bella’s Recently Spoken Publicly About Being Diagnosed With Autism Working On The First Series of the Show.
“It was something That I didn’t didn’t think about too much Before Before,” Bella Starts.
“Actually, No, That’s a Lie.
Bella Says Opening Up has allowed Them “To Be A Bit” and Hopes It Will Inspire Oters.
“You can be in Industries Like This and Openly Say You’re Autistic, Why There Should Be Such A Stigma Around That and Such Aover That,” Says Bella.
“So I’m Very Proud to Be Able to Say It Out and Also Just To Bring More Awareness.
“Autism comes in All Different Shapes and Sizes, And And And I’m Not Someone That People Would Maybe Typically See and Go Like ‘Oh, You’re autistic’.”
Naughty DogBella Also Identifies AS Non-Binary, and The New Series of the Last Of Usply Explores Ellie’s Same-Sex Relationship With Dina, Played by Isabella Merced.
“I Feel Like We’re Figuring Out How to Story Queer Storylines in A Way to Way That AUTHENTIC BUT THAT ALSO FEELS VERY GENUINE IN 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 to Check A Box – It Really Feels Like It’s A Part Of The Story.
“So That Wild Was Exiting About Getting To Portray This Of Relationship in This Medium.”
The Last of US has already been commissioned for a Third Series after a posison critical reception for Season Two, and Ellie – Will Still Be Growing Up In The Public Eye for a While Yet.
It’s Something That “Comes With Pros and Cons,” Says Bella.
“But It’s Kind of Lovely That My Growth and Development has beginned on-screen.
“I Feel Very Greateful For That.”
But bella says there’s One Thing That Doesn’t Get Any Easier.
“The More That You Grow Up, You Just Know How Little You Know, I Think. And I Think That’s Something That’s Ellie Is Also Discovering.”
The Last of US Season Two Launches on Sky and Streaming Service now on Monday 14 April.
