Bella Ramsey defends weird storylines in The Last of Us: ‘Get used to it’

HBO’s TV adaptation of the zombie-infested, post-apocalyptic The last of us Video gaming has been dominating our Sunday nights lately, not least because of the unlikely duo at its heart: 14-year-old Ellie (Bella Ramsey) and accomplished survivalist Joel (Pedro Pascal). Equally captivating was the third episode of the series, in which the tender love story by Bill and Frank, and while the episode brought me to tears personally, others were more antagonistic (read: homophobic) replies to the episode. But according to Ramsey, these strange plans are going nowhere: “I know people are going to think what they want to think,” they said GQ in a recent interview. “But you have to get used to that.”

Ramsey discussed her identity as a non-binary individual in a New York Times interview leading to The last of us’ HBO premiere. “I think my gender has always been very fluid,” they said. “Someone called me ‘she’ or ‘your’ and I didn’t think about it, but I knew it was a bit exciting when someone called me ‘he.'” However, pronouns aren’t a big problem for the actor. “Gender isn’t something I particularly like, but I really don’t care about pronouns.”

As a non-binary person, Ramsey revealed that being able to use a chest binder while filming the show was important to her ability to do the job well. It also helped that her costar Pascal, who has a trans sister, was “super supportive.” Ramsey said the two had frequent conversations about gender and sexuality.

“They weren’t always profound: they could be funny and humorous, the whole spectrum,” Ramsey said. “We were just very honest and open with each other.”

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Thankfully, Bill and Frank’s love story is just the beginning The last of us‘s strange stories and characters. Stay true to the content The Last of Us: Part II video game, the second season of the show (which is already in progress) will feature an older Ellie and her romance with a woman named Dina. Viewers are also introduced to a trans teenager named Lev, who has been ostracized by his very religious family. Despite the existing backlash to these narratives, Ramsey remains resolute in her importance: “If you don’t want to watch the show because it has gay storylines, because it has a trans character, that’s on you, and you’re missing out. ” Said.

Ramsey added that playing mostly female characters is both frustrating and liberating: “It bothers me more than pronouns: being called ‘young woman’ or ‘powerful young woman’, ‘young lady’, but it’s me simply not [that]’ they explained. Taking on more female roles in projects such as Catherine named Birdy And become Elizabeth came with her own brand of empowerment: “Playing these more feminine characters is a chance to be something so opposite of myself, and it’s really fun,” Ramsey said.

As The last of us As this season progresses, it will be interesting to see which ones fans cling to and which ones they leave in the dust with the corpses of fungus-infected zombies. If someone as hot as Pedro Pascual can exist in the end times, I hope to God queer people – and their love – can exist there too.