Bella Ramsey has been in a lot of kickass productions during their acting career. Their breakout role was playing Lyanna Mormont in Game of Thrones and then being part of the cast of HBO’s The Last of Us with its second season as part of your 2025 TV schedule in April. Portraying a character who battles a giant or zombies is arguably a cakewalk compared to the real-life battles Ramsey went through recently. In between seasons of The Last of Us, the English actor got candid on how they embraced their autism diagnosis and overcame their eating disorder.
The 21-year-old TV star has been candid in the past about being gender fluid and loving the queer representation in The Last of Us regarding their character, Ellie, and LGBTQ+ plotlines. Before its second season started filming, Bella Ramsey starred in a whole other TV show, BBC’s Time. However, that’s not all The Worst Witch actor was going through during that break in between seasons of the zombie apocalypse series. They spoke with British Vogue about something they discovered about themselves while filming Season 1 that better explained their love of routines:
I’ve spoken a bit about neurodivergence before, but I always for some reason didn’t want to… I felt like I didn’t want to say what it was… Shoot. I got diagnosed with autism when I was filming season one of The Last of Us.
The autism diagnosis occurred while Bella Ramsey was shooting The Last of Us in Canada. A crew member with an autistic daughter assumed the television star was on the spectrum as well. After that, Ramsey “wondered” if the diagnosis fit them as they revealed they felt out of place among their peers in school. Plus, they also admitted to dealing with sensory issues and being hyper-aware of other people’s body language and expressions, traits found among those with autism. Another pet peeve of Ramsey’s was having to wear heavy clothing when filming in the cold Canadian wilderness.
After the crew member’s assumption, Bella Ramsey made sure to receive a formal psychiatric assessment which ultimately led to an official autism diagnosis. Even though autism comes with its set of challenges, Ramsey revealed that the diagnosis was “freeing” for them with a clearer explanation for their behaviors. Not to mention, very beneficial for those with an acting career:
I’ve always been watching and learning from people. Having to learn more manually how to socialise and interact with the people around me has helped me with acting. . . . I have a call time, and I’m told what to wear, how to stand, where to stand and what to eat. . . . It enables me to walk through the world with more grace towards myself about not being able to do the easy everyday tasks that everyone else seems to be able to do.
The Catherine Called Birdy star has a point that acting does come with a routine. You know when to come in, prep time, rehearsals, filming, and more. Plus, it must mean a lot of clarity to have an explanation that comes with unique behaviors and elements that feel overwhelming. Bella Ramsey continued to say that the autism label was “helpful” to them in understanding themselves, looking seemingly relaxed talking about it. I can understand it must feel like a huge weight has been lifted off of their shoulders to embrace what they have.
Other than an autism diagnosis, Bella Ramsey was also struggling with anorexia “for a couple of years” after filming for Season 1 of The Last of Us wrapped. While seeking treatment, their counselor gave them a great idea on how to overcome their eating disorder through screenwriting:
I had this real need to, I think, show people in a physical way that I was struggling, because I found it so hard to vocalise.
Some things are indeed hard to put into words. Luckily, we have art to give audiences a visual of an artist’s feelings. Film and television can be impactful ways for stars to explain to audiences what an eating disorder feels like to break the myths and encourage a conversation. Brittany Snow depicted eating disorders in her directorial debut Parachute which reflected on her own personal battles. The same was said for Pretty Little Liars’ Troian Bellisario who starred, wrote, and co-produced Feed about a girl who develops an eating disorder after the death of her twin, mirroring how own real-life experiences.
Bella Ramsey’s script they’ve written and hope to direct is called Toast and Jam with eating the delectable meal being a routine they followed every night. The Primetime Emmy nominee credited the yummy habit for driving out the guilt they felt for eating and helping them overcome their eating disorder.
Just when you thought getting back to filming The Last of Us would be a challenge, Bella Ramsey went through the revelation of an autism diagnosis and battling their eating disorder. Fortunately for the talented performer, they navigated their journeys gracefully. Ramsey is certainly not far off from the badass they play in TV shows for facing challenges head-on and talking openly to erase the stigma of both autism and eating disorders.
Season 2 of The Last of Us premieres on HBO on April 13th. Until then, you can refresh yourself by watching the first season on your Max subscription.