Bella Ramsey, 19, is phenomenal on The Last of Us with Pedro Pascal. That show was addictive and it’s one of the first shows I’ve wanted to watch every week in a long time. (Luckily Ted Lasso is back now though.) Bella is nonbinary, which I didn’t realize until I read their recent profile in GQ UK. When I first read the article, it was written with they/them pronouns for Bella, but when I revisited it the pronouns were changed to she/her. There’s an explainer that Bella doesn’t care which pronouns are used and “elected to use she/her for this interview.” (I’ll strive to use she/they here.)
To GQ UK, Bella talked about the hate people gave the show online, particularly for the queer storylines, and about the negative comments about her appearance. It’s disappointing, but not surprising. They also mentioned what a great set The Last of Us is, and how they feel protected by the other actors and showrunners. That really comes through when you watch it. Here’s some of what Bella said, with more at the source.
Pedro Pascal was supportive
Pascal, whose sister is trans, was “super supportive,“ says Ramsey. The two of them had many conversations around gender and sexuality. “And they weren’t always deep: they could be funny and humorous, the whole spectrum. We were just very honest and open with each other.”On their identity
“This is what bothers me more than pronouns: being called a ‘young woman’ or a ‘powerful young woman’, ‘young lady,’ but I’m just not [that]… Catherine Called Birdy, I was in dresses. Young Elizabeth, I was in a corset. And I felt super powerful in that. Playing these more feminine characters is a chance to be something so opposite to myself, and it’s really fun.”On criticism for the show’s gay storylines
“I’m not particularly anxious about it. I know people will think what they want to think. But they’re gonna have to get used to it. If you don’t want to watch the show because it has gay storylines, because it has a trans character, that’s on you, and you’re missing out. It isn’t gonna make me afraid. I think that comes from a place of defiance.”On how great it is to work on The Last of Us
“I mean, season one really was the best year of my life,” she says. “As the episodes come out, [they] bring back such good memories. I am nervous, of course. [But] I’m so excited to get the chance to do that again… I love it so much. And the people: Craig, Pedro. I want to spend all my time with them.” She describes them as a “safety blanket,” before taking a moment. “I’ve gained two fathers, in a way.”
I wish there was a way to protect younger actors particularly from all the BS and negativity online. I’ve been online since the Internet started and I do this job without tying it to my identity yet the criticism can still get to me. I can’t imaging how hurtful it would be to read all that trolling directed at me personally. It sounds like Bella has a good support system to deal with it. I look forward to seeing more of them because I can’t look away when Ellie is on screen.
The casting on this show is incredible! The leads are great of course but also the secondary characters, particularly Ellie’s love interest Riley (Storm Reid) and the capsule episode love story with Bill and Frank (Nick Offerman and Murray Bartlett). Oh and I’m still mad about Henry and Sam (Lamar Johnson and Keivonn Woodard)! They didn’t have to follow the game so closely with all the plotlines, you know?
Photos credit: Hedo/Backgrid, JW/Bang Showbiz/Avalon and via Instagram
And regarding ‘people’ giving hate, it was predominantly cishet males. I looked at many websites about it and a lot of them went absolutely nuts hating it for the gay storylines and Bella’s looks.
This is very odd as she plays a young teen in the series, so why such a focus on her looks by grownass men?
Those types always complain about ‘cancel culture’, but are the first to want to cancel and boycott things, as well as give 1 star reviews wherever they could.
Because certain people are personally offended anytime someone they think of as female isn’t 100% presented as oriented towards them and their needs. Online, those “certain people” are often cishet white jerk males who are enraged when other people or storylines or performers or wardrobe don’t cater towards their preferences or expectations. They want women they don’t find attractive to disappear or be punished; they attack show-runners or performers who make content that isn’t centered around their particular cishet male experience and view, they downvote and trash talk anything that explores or elevates any other experience, perspective. They cannot tolerate diversity or other perspectives and want to silence and destroy it.
There is a large contingent of cishet boys/men online who are going off the rails. It’s frightening. They don’t accept anything that doesn’t conform to very traditional, hyperfeminine, hetero ideas of womanhood. ANYTHING outside of that is met with pure hatred. I don’t know if this is the result of social media or if these dudes were always there. Somewhere. In a basement. I remember homophobia from my teen years, sure. Ragging on women’s looks. But it was almost quaint compared to this.
Sometimes I have to step away from IG etc. because it can quickly seem like 90% of men are trash. I don’t believe that’s true but I do believe a large percentage still feels like it’s fine to be cruel.
The looks thing about Ms. Ramsey in particular – i don’t get it. Were they expecting Lara Croft and her double Ds to show up as a young teenager with no access to make up, shampoo, or even showers for most of the show.
It is like – a playboy centerfold- or why even bother.
That is not what people look like.
Not everything is masturbation material.
Then again- social media amplifies the worst of us. And those people have very little real life and pour all their wasted energy into putting their self hatred out into the world.
I hope they find peace.
And stop finding fault with an exceptional piece of fiction and a young person.
They won’t – but still. Bless their hearts.
They see any reminder in the media that there’s more to this world than just them and the stifling worldview their ancestors passed down to them as an act of aggression or an attempt at brainwashing. In their minds, inclusion is a nasty subtweet and downvote aimed at their whole existence.
Thanks for the Bella and Pedro posts! Such absolutely lovely people.
Yes, yes, yes.
I love these two.
I think Pedro helped Bella with this in being a supportive ear. Bella talks about how she and Pedro talked about gender expression and more during filming. And Bella, themself, learned that she preferred to present wearing a binder after using one for the early scenes.
You can actually see she’s still wearing one in the last episodes, so the production crew decided their comfort was most important and I love it.
Agreed! I’m going to opt to ignore the ignorant, hysterical turds and focus on the joy/love/bond between these two absolutely delightful people. And I’m gonna be happy that they’ve found such a protective environment for all walks. Be good to each other, people!
I don’t think I could love her or him any more than I already do
I had no plans to watch the show, i have not played a video game since frogger, but it has been getting such good reviews i watched it over the past week. It is so good.
And everyone is like- the Bill and Frank episode was so sad- i thought the opposite- what an incredibly happy life they got, even in the chaos of the post-apocalyptic world.
Of course, i went into episode just assuming all but the main two characters would die in the course of events- which was more true than not.
But i finished it last night and it was great.
The only thing that troubled me was that in the review i read- it leaned into the final thing wasn’t going to work anyway if Joel had not stopped it. And when i watched, i didn’t see any evidence of that- maybe it could have been a cure.
Other thing- men are disgusting- why must there be a kid f**king “holy” man in any world we live in or create. Just, yuck.
I was yelling at my TV about how dumb the doctors were.
The first choice is never to try nothing and go full hog. Not to mention the ethical violations of a doctor killing a child.
You don’t need the whole piece of fungus to culture it. It was noted it was in her blood. Even if it wasn’t, they’re use a long needle to even check wtf it is before removing it.
Ugh. I was so mad at the scientific inaccuracy and boneheadedness. I don’t agree with all of Pajibas criticisms but I agree with Dustin.
If anyone has questions on why it was so absolutely disgusting ignorant, I’m happy to elaborate 🙂
The science part was awful. I mean surgeons are scientists now and vice versa? And after 20 years of no practice? That episode was much talked and written about if you are interested. A lot of knowledgeable people chimed on. One person said that she used to do research, but 15 years later would find it hard to culture something since she is out of practice. And that doesn’t even touch the ethics of it.
There will be those “holy” men even in Mars. It’s infuriating, depressing.
This is such a good series, looking forward to the next season!
You can always tell who played the game and who didn’t… us players weren’t surprised by the LGBTQ inclusion… it’s right there in the game. And the majority of us welcomed it. It was awesome to have that representation in a game like that.
And those idiots screaming about trans characters should just stop watching now, because one of the most important characters from TLOU2 is trans. (Not a spoiler)
Do NOT mention Henry and Sam. I’m still not over them. Bella is a phenomenal actor. I can’t believe anyone could look at the Bill/Frank story or the (too short) Riley story and see only gay. Both of those stories, especially Bill and Frank, were so incredibly well done and heart felt.
Great show. Great actors.
Love that you love this show too, @Celebitchy! I’m all for more Pedro and Bella content – Especially him, the media keeps framing him as a sexy older man type but he just seems like a fun-loving goof.
What is even left for closed-minded bigots? We’re deep in the era of prestige television, and it gives no efs about small minds. What can you even watch if you’re an idiot?
Monster trucks? Orange County Choppers? Liam Neeson movies?
HA! Exactly the entertainment they deserve.
I think it’s really refreshing to see more diversity on screen, both with the cast and the LGBQTIA+ storylines. Bella looks like what she should be – a pretty but ‘normal’ looking teenage girl who doesn’t really care about her looks or fashion because she’s busy trying to stay alive. I have appreciated that most of the characters portrayed are not beauty queen knockouts but look like the type of people you WOULD see if the premise of the show happened.
Honestly, I get so distracted when watching a movie or TV show when everyone looks perfect. You see model-like women waking up with fresh hair and makeup and men with chiseled jaws and the kind of body you only get from working out 4 hours a day, and meanwhile the movie or show is trying to portray them as an average ‘working-man’ you’re supposed to relate to – it really distracts from losing yourself in the art when you can’t forget that you are watching actors look beautiful on screen.
“And they weren’t always deep: they could be funny and humorous, the whole spectrum. We were just very honest and open with each other.”
This part made me smile. I’m not sure why every conversation revolving around gender identity is assumed to be tragic, it shouldn’t be.
I was really impressed with her performance in S1. Ramsey could’ve easily been outshined by the adult talents astound her, but she kept right up with Pascal and the others. Big things in her future if she keeps it up.
Whether they’ll be able to keep up the momentum in S2 is another story. I wasn’t particularly thrilled with the direction in the games, and it’s a shame they aren’t straying from it. Hopefully, she Carrie’s it through the weaker plotting.
Craig Maizin has said in a couple of recent interviews, that he would feel comfortable making seasons 2 and 3 use any aspects of the Part II game, plus additional content he and Druckmann might come up with together, and that Druckmann feels the same way. Without referencing the obvious terrible part II plot point, I took that to mean that they are both open to “dragging out”, and adding to the stories in season 2.
Honestly surprised that anyone is surprised by this type of toxic masculine respone. As a kid growing up in the 90s I was regularly bullied in middle school for looking like Bella – an ordinary average kid not into being feminine or appealing to cishet male tastes. The response from other 13-14 year old boys around me was vicious and terrible. The names I was called and the degradation I suffered crippled my self-esteem for years. Hope for Bella it stays on the internet only, as least you can shut that off. Hope she’ll never get to experience that in person.
But yeah, cishet boys and men are some of the worst, cruel and emotionless animals on the planet.