'The Last of Us' star Bella Ramsey sat down with The Hollywood Reporter during their cover shoot for THR's sustainability issue to chat all about season 2 of the HBO hit show, growing up in the industry and more. Plus, they dish on their close bond with Pedro Pascal, working alongside new co-stars Isabela Merced, Kaitlyn Dever and more.
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00:00I don't really think about it, I just sort of say it, which is probably bad. I probably should think about these things a bit more before I tell them to the world.
00:06But I'm just glad that I can be someone that people can look up to and I'm just very much being myself and hopefully that encourages other people that you can also do that.
00:21Hello, I'm Bella Ramsey and this is my THR Sustainability Issue Cover Shoot.
00:26Sustainability to me means being very active in your choices in terms of clothing, in terms of food items and just I think we make so many choices and decisions throughout the day.
00:41To me it's just it's more an awareness of our footprint on the world and trying to make decisions throughout the day that leave no trace or if anything make a positive impact.
00:56When I'm on set I am trying to advocate for electric vehicles is one of the big changes that I'm trying to push for and even going to and from shoots and stuff for press things I really ask for electric vehicles now.
01:13It's just such a simple change to make.
01:16It's quite scary the blind eye that world leaders are turning towards the very impending threat of irreversible climate change.
01:26This is absolutely undeniable but there are still a lot of people who don't believe in that and are pretending that it's not happening.
01:34Especially people in positions of leadership which is absolutely terrifying for me and my generation and generations that are going to come after me and have come forward.
01:46Bella Ramsey the actor and Bella Ramsey the person I think are pretty much the same.
01:50If anything I have more confidence on set just because I really know my face and I know what I'm supposed to be doing and how I'm supposed to be doing it.
01:59I really like the guidance and the structure that set provides so if anything I'm a bit more confident on set but other than that I'm pretty much the same.
02:09Yeah.
02:10It was really exciting coming back for season two.
02:12I had a lot of anticipation about it.
02:14I'd known what happened in season two for a while because of the second game and talking with Craig and Neil.
02:19We had a lot of new casts this season and it was really exciting to have fresh faces and fresh energy on set and it was nice to feel like not the new kid in school and they all did so wonderfully.
02:31Me and Isabella instantly clicked and I think that is the thing with chemistry.
02:37It's quite hard to force.
02:39You can develop it for sure and I think that also happened.
02:42The more time that you spend with someone the more you get to know them especially in an on set environment where it's so intense and you literally have the elements thrown at you.
02:49We really carried each other through the season and she is a remarkable performer and human being and has so much to offer and so much energy to give and yeah gives a very electric performance in season two.
03:03Caitlin has been nothing but supportive of me being Ellie as I have with her being Abby.
03:10I was so excited when I found out that she was she was cast as Abby.
03:13I thought it was so genius because of yes her involvement in the last of us film when that was going to happen.
03:20And I just think it's so special that this show and this story is like is still got to be like a part of her life.
03:30I was watching her interview saying that she like it was always supposed to be a part of her life.
03:35I'm so glad that we got to work together on this in the capacity that we did.
03:39And I'm really excited to like keep getting to know her as an actor and as a performer and see her working this season and hopefully this season's beyond.
03:47She's she's really great.
03:49So partners is such a nice way to describe me and Pedro.
04:00I agree and feel the same.
04:02It feels like this very like deep rooted connection and bond that we have that I've got no fear of us like not being in each other's lives.
04:13I feel like we could not talk for a few years as we do other projects.
04:18I feel like we could yeah not talk for a few years but still be feel this so connected and yeah that's I saw partners is the perfect way to describe our relationship.
04:28I don't really have a word to top it.
04:32I don't know if I've ever seen Pedro after six shots of espresso unless he was doing that on season one of the last of us and I just didn't know which probably was the case.
04:41He's kind of crazy anyway and is the same has so much energy for an almost 50 year old man which he will hate me saying but his yeah his coffee order was quite spectacular and you know each to their own.
04:59And I hope that he can continue to order that coffee in peace without fear of judgment from himself and others.
05:06Yeah my life is still pretty normal like I my everyday life hasn't really changed.
05:13It sort of changes in chapters like right now my life is very different to what my life normally is because I'm on sort of a press tour for for this season and it's just like bonkers.
05:24And it's like so far away from my normal life and and then once this is finished I will just go back to my normal life and everything will still be there and my friends and my family and my home up in the East Midlands and in England and yeah nothing really changes.
05:42I still get the tubing on the bus and walk around and I'm sort of in denial about being famous and all.
05:47I think that I didn't choose acting acting chose me so cringe but I didn't know that I wanted to be an actor until I joined the television workshop in Nottingham.
06:02Again that wasn't to like pursue this dream I had of acting it was just for like another fun thing to do on a Saturday.
06:08I was I did so many like clubs and extracurricular activities when I was a kid and this was just one of them the television workshop and through them I started getting auditions and that's how I ended up getting the Game of Thrones audition and then role.
06:21And then since then I've just sort of been working and so it happens semi organically and I'm very grateful for that because I didn't have the like dream and the heavy expectation of what being an actor would be.
06:35So I've very much just been taking it in my stride and was thrown in at the deep end which I'm so grateful for it seems to be like how I operate best and now here we are 10 years later still going.
06:45There's certain privileges that you gain from being an actor and sort of having the level of recognition and then there are some privileged privileges that just get like automatically taken away like the privilege of like privacy I suppose and so that's been something that I'm yeah definitely navigating and but talking openly about like who I am and how I am and stuff feels like it just natural and doesn't.
07:14It doesn't it doesn't feel that scary I think I don't really think about it I just sort of say it which is probably bad I probably should think about these things a bit more before I tell them to the world but I'm just glad that I can be someone that people can look up to and I'm just very much being myself and hopefully that encourages other people to that you can also do that.
07:33You can just be yourself and that's that's the best thing.