Bella Ramsey says she wore a chest binder “90 percent” during filming of ‘The Last Of Us’ – after revealing she identifies as gender-spontaneous
Bella Ramsey has revealed that she wore a chest tie “90 percent” of the time she was filming The Last Of Us.
The 19-year-old actor, who identifies as gender neutral, plays Ellie on the HBO series, which is set during a global pandemic that has transformed those infected into zombie-like creatures.
Speaking to G2 UK, Bella opened up about how her fluid identity influenced her portrayal of Ellie and felt carrying a binder helped her focus on set.
“Which is probably not healthy,” she said. ‘Like, please bind securely’
Bella spoke about her gender identity with her co-star Pedro Pascal, whose sister is a trans woman.
Candid: Bella Ramsey has revealed that she wore a chest tie 90 percent of the time she was filming The Last Of Us (pictured in January 2023)
Role: The 19-year-old gender-identified actor plays Ellie on the HBO series, which is set during a global pandemic that has transformed the infected into zombie-like creatures
She said: “They weren’t always profound: they could be funny and humorous, the whole spectrum. We were just very honest and open with each other.”
Bella previously told The New York Times that she doesn’t mind what pronouns are used to refer to her.
She added, “That bothers me more than pronouns: ‘young woman’ or ‘powerful young woman’, being called ‘young lady’, but I’m just not that [that].’
However, Bella has enjoyed playing female characters such as Birdy in Catherine Called Birdy and Jane Gray in Becoming Elizabeth.
She had to wear dresses and corsets in both roles, and said it made her feel “super powerful” and “the opposite” of herself.
First released on the Playstation 3 in 2013, The Last Of Us took the gaming world by storm, selling 1.3 million units in its first week and over 17 million by 2018.
Set 20 years after a pandemic wiped out most of the world, the game focuses on Ellie, who may be an integral part of the pandemic’s cure, and a smuggler named Joel.
Bella’s character, Ellie, is a 14-year-old orphan who struggles to learn that she may have a big role to play in saving the world as she knows it.
Character: Discussing how her fluid identity influenced her portrayal of Ellie, Bella felt that carrying a binder helped her focus on the set
Co-stars: Bella spoke about her gender identity with her co-star Pedro Pascal, whose sister is a trans woman
The game is considered by many to be one of the greatest of all time, leading to the sequel The Last Of Us Part II which was released in June 2020.
The sequel sold more than 4 million copies in its first weekend, making it one of the fastest-selling PS4 games.
Before this new HBO series came to fruition, the game was previously in development as a film adaptation at Sony Pictures.
The show was a huge hit for HBO and was renewed for its second season in January.
Bella said, “That bothers me more than pronouns: ‘young woman’ or ‘powerful young woman’, being called ‘young lady’, but I’m just not that [that]’