The Last of Us is off to a running start on HBO, with millions of people getting invested in the story of Joel and Ellie, two people trying to find joy in the midst of a zombie apocalypse. Lead actors Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, both of whom were on Game of Thrones before landing this new gig, had followings before, but The Last of Us could turn them into household names.
Ramsey talked to The A.V. Club about some of the highlights coming up for Ellie, including an episode where she’ll work with actor Storm Reid, who plays Ellie’s best friend Riley. “It’s a backstory episode for Ellie, so it’s just the two of us and you see their relationship and how they relate to each other.”
"You see them being best friends and more. Working with Storm was awesome. She’s incredibly busy. Like, she’s doing a full-on university degree at the same time. I’m really inspired by her and how well she manages her hectic life. She manages it with such grace. Yeah, she was awesome to work with. I’m excited for people to see that episode. I hope they love it."
The Last of Us has already mentioned Riley in passing; in the first episode, Ellie talked about her with Firefly leader Marlene. It’s cool to hear we’ll learn more about her, although we don’t know which episode that will be.
Bella Ramsey: It’s “scary” seeing people react to The Last of Us
So far, people have been receiving The Last of Us extremely positively. How does that make Ramsey feel?
"It’s scary, actually. It’s something that feels very personal to me. I think about everyone who’s watching it, everyone who’s so invested, it feels, yeah, like a very personal thing. So it’s bizarre, in a way, to share it with the world. But it’s a joy at the same time that people have been responding so well to it and being inspired by it and by the story, like they were initially in the video game. It’s quite exciting. I think it will feel really strange once all the episodes are out, because then it’s like, “Well, now what?” And I guess we have season two to look forward to. I’m just so happy that people are taking so well to it and I’m excited for people to see the rest."
HBO did indeed renew The Last of Us for a second season, which means that Ramsey will have to delay some of her plans to write and direct her own work. At 19, she has big plans for her future, although she never forgets how lucky she is to get these opportunities.
“The harsh reality of the industry, I guess, is it’s not easy to get into,” Ramsey said. “I was very fortunate with the way that I got into it. If I hadn’t gotten into Game Of Thrones I don’t know that I would be acting, or even considering going into it. So I think a lot of it is very situational. I hesitate to use the word luck, but yeah, that’s part of it.”
New episodes of The Last of Us drop Sunday nights on HBO and HBO Max.
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