Tim Lewis | The Guardian

‘When medieval times return, I’ll be ready’: Bella Ramsey on friendship, fashion and The Last of Us

Tim Lewis — Sun, 20 Apr 2025 07:01:01 GMT

The young actor’s life has been transformed since they landed the lead role in what turned out to be a TV phenomenon. As the much-anticipated second season begins, they discuss growing up in the glare of fame

Bella Ramsey self-recorded their audition tape for The Last of Us at their parents’ home in Leicestershire and sent it off more in hope than expectation. Ramsey, who was 17 at the time, had never played the post-apocalyptic zombie video game on which the new TV series was based, but knew it was a big deal: released in 2013, it had sold more than 20m copies. It would later emerge that Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann, the show’s creators, looked seriously at more than 100 actors for the role of Ellie, the sassy and quirky but also complicated and vicious American protagonist of The Last of Us. “Yeah, I’ve been told,” says Ramsey with a wry smile.

When Ramsey got the first callback from Mazin and Druckmann, they joined the Zoom from their childhood bedroom. “I’ve gotten very used to sending in a self-tape and forgetting about it,” they say, when we meet at a photo studio in north London. “But the problem was when there was a self-tape that really meant something to me, like The Last of Us did. It feels quite scary. And when I got the phone call saying they wanted me to be Ellie it did feel surreal for a few days. I understood that if I said yes – which obviously I was going to – my life was going to change.”

Tim Lewis | The Guardian

‘When medieval times return, I’ll be ready’: Bella Ramsey on friendship, fashion and The Last of Us

‘I always thought it would be amazing to be the first person to play a role’: Ewan McGregor on his return to the UK stage

No forgetting my encounter with two giants of the stage | Tim Lewis

‘I was taking on a monumental challenge’: racing driver Billy Monger on why being a double amputee hasn’t slowed him down

Dame Denise Lewis: ‘I love an apple crumble – just don’t talk to me while I enjoy myself’

And the Academy award for most bashful Oscar contender goes to… | Tim Lewis

Writer Percival Everett: ‘Deciding to write a book is like knowingly entering a bad marriage’

Ludovico Einaudi: ‘The way you blend the elements you eat is similar to composing a piece of music’

‘It is absolutely, fundamentally not autobiography’: Chris Bush on her new play about the trans experience

‘It’s about escaping from yourself’: wildlife presenter Gordon Buchanan

Marina Hyde on Kanye and Bianca; the woman who lives without money; Roman Kemp on tattoos and mental health; and Philippa Perry on ‘chaotic’ partners – podcast

Roman Kemp: ‘Here’s all my faults. Have ’em. Enjoy’

Fury: ‘Most of the time Gladiators have to drink water – but I love Yorkshire tea’

‘Friends keep me tethered’: actor Joe Alwyn on fame, dating Taylor Swift and keeping his feet on the ground

‘The more relaxed you are, the better you are as a human’: Nicole Kidman on Kubrick, sharks and risk-taking

Comedian Alex Edelman: ‘People think my show is about antisemitism. It’s about assimilation’

Rose Matafeo: ‘When you walk into a pub quiz and see a table of old geezers, you’re screwed’

From Charli to Jilly to Moo Deng the hippo: the faces we won’t forget from 2024

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall: ‘I’ve never thought of myself as eccentric. I still don’t’

Richard Linklater: ‘I’ve always had that French new wave notion – that a film should be an extension of your life’