Bella Ramsey received autism diagnosis after crew member spotted signs

Actor says they were diagnosed while filming first season of The Last of Us

Bella Ramsey has shared that they were diagnosed with autism while filming the first season of HBO’s The Last of Us.

The Emmy-nominated star said a crew member with a neurodivergent child noticed similar behaviours in Ramsey, which led the actor to seek a formal diagnosis.

“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,” they told British Vogue.

“I got diagnosed with autism when I was filming Season 1 of The Last of Us.”

Ramsey said the psychiatric assessment cleared up things they had “always wondered” about, whether it was feeling out of place at school or the sensory issues that came with the heavy outerwear and thermals they wore while filming in the cold.

The Last of Us, an adaptation of the zombie apocalypse video game of the same name, became an almost instant hit when it was released in January 2023, garnering critical acclaim and 24 nominations at the Emmy Awards.

Season 1 sees Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey as Joel and Ellie, survivors of a deadly mass fungal infection that destroys the world, while Season 2 will follow the events of the game’s sequel, The Last of Us Part II, set five years after the events of the first game.

Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey in ‘The Last of Us’ (Max)

The Game of Thrones star said the diagnosis felt “freeing” and helped them understand themself.

“The label of being autistic has been so helpful to me because that’s helped me to understand myself, but gender and sexuality-wise, labels do not feel comfy for me in any capacity, because I feel like I’m putting myself into a box. I feel trapped,” they said.

“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.”

Ramsey believes their “painful hyperawareness of other people’s micro-expressions and body language” has actually helped them as an actor.

“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.”

The routine of being on set every day for The Last of Us too was a massive help, they said.

“I have a call time, and I’m told what to wear, how to stand, where to stand and what to eat.”

On sharing their autism diagnosis, Ramsey said they felt more comfortable and were able to “unmask immediately” once it was said.

“My experience of moving through the world is as an autistic person. There’s no reason for people not to know,” they said.

Bella Ramsey has shared they were diagnosed with autism while filming the first season of ‘The Last of Us’

Ramsey has spoken about their neurodivergence before, telling The Independent in a 2023 interview: “I wouldn’t be an actor if it wasn’t for my neurodivergence. It’s just a part of me and it’s incredibly helpful in terms of acting. One of my things is that I have insane levels of visual perception compared to all the other things. I’ve been watching people and absorbing everything since I was really young… all these characters that I play, there’s an element of them that’s already inside me because I’ve seen someone be that before.”

In a four-star review, The Independent’s Nick Hilton called The Last of Us “a new landmark in the seemingly impossible task of adapting video games”.

“It’s too early to say whether it will satisfy the legions of fans who believe that [show co-creator and video game developer Neil] Druckmann’s survivalist game is high art, in itself. But Druckmann, working with [showrunner Craig] Mazin, has his fingerprints all over this tender, well-crafted and blackly comic piece.

“Right now, HBO is simply operating on a different level to any other network. With The Last of Us, it has another monster hit on its hands.”

The Last of Us season 2 starts 14 April on Sky Now and HBO Max.