The Last of Us star Bella Ramsey opens up about autism diagnosis: 'There's no reason for people not to know'
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/bella-ramsey-022025-2ed9bddfa68245749ab864490f3d11ce.jpg)
"The label of being autistic has been so helpful to me because that’s helped me to understand myself," Ramsey says.
Bella Ramsey revealed they are autistic and called the diagnosis "freeing."
The 21-year-old breakout star of The Last of Us, who is non-binary and goes by they/them pronouns, said they were diagnosed while filming the debut season of the hit HBO apocalyptic drama, after a crew member with an autistic daughter had assumed that Ramsey was autistic, too. It set off a journey that ended with a formal psychiatric assessment and a diagnosis.
"I’ve spoken a bit about neurodivergence before, but I always for some reason didn’t want to…” Ramsey said in a new British Vogue interview. “I felt like I didn’t want to say what it was." Of that freeing diagnosis, "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 said.
The label has been helpful when it comes to understanding themselves, Ramsey said, "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." It feels easier, however, to talk openly about the autism diagnosis because Ramsey is able to “unmask immediately” after informing someone about their condition.
“My experience of moving through the world is as an autistic person,” they said. “There’s no reason for people not to know.”
The star is gearing up for the highly-anticipated sophomore season of The Last of Us, premiering April 13 on HBO. Set five years after their trek across a post-pandemic America, the season will follow Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Ramsey) as they settle in Jackson, Wyo., amongst a community of fellow survivors. When a "violent event" disrupts the peace, Ellie embarks on a journey to carry out justice and find closure, per the synopsis.
Kaitlyn Dever, Catherine O'Hara, Jeffrey Wright, and Young Mazino are on board for season 2, which recently broke new inclusive ground by announcing the implementation of an American Sign Language (ASL) version of the new season once it premieres.
“We are thrilled to expand our ASL program and debut our first HBO Original series in ASL with The Last of Us,” Naomi Waibel, SVP of Global Product Management at WBD, said in a statement. “This debut brings the show to life in an authentic and fully accessible way for Deaf audiences and is another meaningful step towards our goal of offering an inclusive streaming experience.”
