Bella Ramsey will soon be known by many as Ellie, the heroine of The Last of Us, HBO's highly-anticipated TV adaptation of the Naughty Dog video game of the same name.
But Bella first entered our collective consciousness when she was just 11 years old, playing Lyanna Mormont on Game of Thrones. After her role on the series ended, the young actor kept working, but taking on smaller projects, voice acting roles, and the occasional lead; most recently, she starred in the medieval YA comedy Catherine Called Birdy. In a new interview, Bella revealed that her low profile has been intentional — and she was initially hesitant to take the role of Ellie.
The Last of Us is based on the enormously popular 2013 video game about a man named Joel (played by The Mandalorian star and former Game of Thrones-er Pedro Pascal) and a teenage girl named Ellie working together to survive in a post-apocalyptic world.
According to Bella, she wasn't sure that the high-profile role was right for her and her career goals. “I seriously considered that maybe I don’t want to be famous so I’m not going to do this show because it’s going propel me to a place I don’t want to go to in terms of being seen and being known,” the 19-year-old actress told The Hollywood Reporter. “I like to blend in and hide.”
Finding the perfect Ellie was quite a process; both Maisie Williams and Kaitlyn Dever were reportedly in talks for the role, and the team saw "dozens and dozens" of hopefuls. Yet, it was Bella who captured creator Brian Druckmann and showrunner Craig Mazin's hearts.
“Bella felt so real,” Druckmann shared of the young actor's audition tape. “It was like Ellie realized in live action. It didn’t feel like watching an actor.” Of course, the internet had some feelings about Bella's casting, but she was used to such criticism given her time on GoT. And she knew the role was perfect for her regardless of fan opinions. “Ellie felt like a character I already had in me,” Bella told The Hollywood Reporter. “Like the skins that you wear in a video game? She was one of my skins already.” Despite our own hesitations, what is for us often doesn't pass us. And Ellie was definitely for Bella.
The Last of Us, which will also star Storm Reid, Gabriel Luna, Anna Torv, Nico Parker, Merle Dandridge, Murray Bartlett, Nick Offerman, and Yellowjackets star Melanie Lynskey, is set to premiere on HBO and HBO Max on January 15, 2023.