Feature image photo by Lia Toby/Getty Images
Well, the kids continue to be all right! Former Game of Thrones star and current Last of Us star Bella Ramsey casually came out as gender fluid in an interview with the New York Times, ahead of the premiere of their new — and already highly acclaimed — series. The 19-year-old told the Times that they’ve been thinking about gender since they were a child, that they loved it when people used to mistake them for a boy, and so they were thrilled when they received a Critics Choice nomination in the non-gendered category Best Young Actor/Actress. (The Critics Choice Awards voted for gender neutral categories just last October.)
“I guess my gender has always been very fluid. Someone would call me ‘she’ or ‘her’ and I wouldn’t think about it, but I knew that if someone called me ‘he’ it was a bit exciting,” they told the Times. “I’m very much just a person. Being gendered isn’t something that I particularly like, but in terms of pronouns, I really couldn’t care less.”
They said if “nonbinary” is an option on a form they’re filling out, that’s the box they’ll check.
You probably know Bella Ramsey most from playing badass Lyanna Mormont on Game of Thrones, but soon all you’ll be able to think about is their performance as Ellie in HBO’s adaptation of every gay’s favorite zombie apocalypse video game, Last of Us. Ellie has several heartbreaking relationships with other girls in the video game, and it looks like that’s going to be the case on the show too. Video game adaptations are usually universally panned, but Last of Us is sitting at 98% on Rotten Tomatoes, ahead of its Sunday premiere. Ramsey says, after reading the pilot script, they identified with Ellie “for reasons I couldn’t describe.”
The NYT interview also touches on Raamsey’s experience with an eating disorder, with anxiety, with studying environmental sciences at university, and the triumph of being able to share their struggles, through stories, with other people on-screen.
I’m so happy for them to be able to live the truth of their gender, out loud, on the red carpet, at 19! That’s a big dang deal!
I’ll see you back here on Tuesday for Nic and Valerie Anne’s review of The Last of Us!
I remember Bella Ramsey in the rebooted “Worst Witch.” It’s awesome seeing Bella’s career doing so well, they really get to flex their artistic muscles!!!
V cool! Dunno if you meant to be consistent w they/them but second sentence says: “ ahead of the premiere of her new.” Idk bc the quote about they’re pronouns seems open ish? Unclear
Just asking if we could chill out about pronouns.And I don’t think any more initials need to be added. I also believe the Q needs to go. People tell you it either stands for experimenting, in which case, you keep experimenting fun as that is and the rest of us will remember the beatings, lynching, general killing, torturing and locking up the “QUEERS”. We were trying to show average people were not weird or queer. . Queer is a derogatory name meant to belittle and harass people. We’re all queer it’s not all about sex people. So I’m just saying, I feel LGBT incorporates everyone. If we keep getting weirder again with more labels explaining who we like to have sex with then it goes back to being about sex. We know there’s so much more involved in this than that. We’ve been divided enough. Let’s try to stop labeling and crying if you look a boy but will be a girl someday. Hooray for you. All the best. Let’s try to literally be more inclusive.
Hey friend. Wow. Yikes.
I’m sorry for any beatings or similar you’ve experienced. A lot of people on this website ID as queer so you’re not going to get a lot of traction here being mad about it. A lot of those queer people have suffered.
But for those who haven’t, well, good. I yearn for the day when our young people can experiment and play and be beautiful and weird and not get hurt for it.
This is not to say that forgetting is okay
But it is to say lets give folks a little bit of grace and being happy for and with each other, even if you don’t fully “get it”.
“I’m sorry for any beatings or similar you’ve experienced.”
Seems callous. And condescending.
Amazing, I’m rooting for them so hard, the reviews have been great so I’m optimistic.
She received so much backlash after their casting was announced because apparently they aren’t fu**able enough playing a teen like the character in the first video game, such a god damn toxic culture. This will just add to the fire. They seem strong though, Hooray!
That’s why i liked them so much in Catherine called Birdie!
They were also awesome in Hilda!
Bella Ramsey: any pronoun is fine but it would be exciting if someone called me “he”
Autostraddle: does literally everything else
I didn’t know that and am even more delighted. It’s a bit like seeing E. Page in Inception, giving me VIBES even back then.
So i correct:
That’s why i liked him so much in Catherine called Birdie!
About to watch it in like 5 minutes!!! Post-Apocalyptic Lesbians!!!! Whooo-hooo!!!! This looks way better than Walking Dead! And the queer person will survive because they are central to the plot, unlike the lesbian doctor who died in Walking Dead.