‘I’ve always felt too old and too young at the same time’: The Last of Us star Bella Ramsey on swapping child stardom for cult television – and Celebrity Traitors
SkimNews Take
A decade of continuous screen work from age 11 means the neurodivergence diagnosis and first flat arrive alongside — not before — the autonomy to curate a public identity, inverting the usual order where self-knowledge precedes a career.
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- Bella Ramsey began acting at 11 as Lyanna Mormont in Game of Thrones and has now worked professionally for 10 years, with their career spanning The Worst Witch, Time, Catherine Called Birdy, and HBO's The Last of Us (2023)
- Ramsey earned two Emmy, two Golden Globe, and two Critics Choice nominations plus a Bafta nomination for playing Ellie in The Last of Us opposite Pedro Pascal, a role watched by 32 million viewers in the season one finale
- Ramsey received a formal neurodivergence diagnosis while filming the first season of The Last of Us, saying they have 'always felt slightly on the outside, too old and too young at the same time'
- Ramsey bought a one-bedroom flat in suburban London at 22, calling homeownership at their age 'a glitch in the system' and 'embarrassing' given the industry's pay disparity
- Ramsey trained at Nottingham's Television Workshop, the working-class acting group whose alumni include Samantha Morton, Vicky McClure, and Jack O'Connell, after being rejected on their first audition at age 10
- Ramsey filmed The Worst Witch at 11 without a parent chaperone, spending 16 weeks away from home in a hotel room alone and being asked to help look after a younger co-star in an interconnecting room
- Ramsey recently shot Sunny Dancer, a coming-of-age film about a teenage cancer survivor at summer camp, marking the first time since The Worst Witch they have acted alongside peers their own age
Why it matters: Ramsey's profile illustrates the unusual arc of a child actor who avoided industry pitfalls while navigating identity, neurodivergence, and sudden wealth — buying a flat at 22 because, in their words, the industry 'pays people too much money' while most peers their age remain locked out of homeownership. Their first time acting with peers in over a decade on Sunny Dancer marks a personal turning point they link to that neurodivergence diagnosis.
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