Bella Ramsey on ‘The Last of Us’ Season 2: “That Goal to Find and Kill Abby – I Don’t Think That’s Gone Away”
The BBC has reported on the shocking TV character death of Joel in the second episode of the second season of HBO’s ‘The Last of Us’, played by Pedro Pascal. Viewers had fallen in love with Joel, a rugged survivor of the fungal apocalypse that turns humans into ghastly zombie-like creatures, and his fatherly bond with Bella Ramsey’s Ellie, the snarky 14-year-old orphan who is immune to the cordyceps virus. Their hard-won relationship was the emotional center of the high-concept sci-fi series based on Naughty Dog’s video game of the same name.
According to The Wrap, Ramsey said during a recent Zoom interview that they’ve been off social media, but they’ve heard through friends that people were hit very hard by Joel’s death. “I had people sending me videos of them just, like, sobbing. I imagine if I was watching the show and didn’t know what was going to happen, it would absolutely crush me and destroy me.”
Pascal’s departure was tough for Ramsey, too. The two had become close friends while making the series. And even though Ramsey uses they/them pronouns and knew about Joel’s death before Season 1 even began, reading the scene made them cry – which no script had ever done before. Joel’s absence also altered the series’ DNA, promoting Ramsey to sole lead. For the 21-year-old British actor, the new position was scary.
As The Wrap reported, Ramsey earned their first Emmy nomination, for lead actress in a drama, for Season 1 and feels Ellie in their bones now. They were ready to assume the weight of not only more screen time but also more mature storylines.
In the latest season, Ellie, now 19, embarks on a mission to avenge Joel’s murder by killing Abby, whose father, a doctor hoping to make a cure for the fungal virus by using Ellie, was shot dead by Joel in Season 1.
Speaking to The Wrap, Ramsey said they approached the season differently as an older character. “To be honest, I approached it exactly the same. I mean, she’s obviously changed a lot, but all the ways that she’s changed are embedded into the scripts. So I sort of have an easy job because of how brilliant the writing is.”
The Wrap interviewed Ramsey about the series and some behind-the-scenes secrets about how they prepared to play the role and what to expect from upcoming seasons.
Ramsey also spoke about their co-star Pedro Pascal and how they loved having him back for some scenes. According to The Wrap, Ramsey described the experience of shooting and how some conversations and scenes were sacred and magical.
When asked about some scary scenes and the season’s cliffhanger, The Wrap stated that Ramsey had thoughts on Ellie’s journey.
Ramsey also shared about pursuing other work, including writing. As reported by The Wrap, they mentioned writing for themselves and others and discussed developing a film and a series.
A version of this story first ran in The Wrap’s awards magazine. Read more from the issue here.
Source link
