‘I positioned my guitar just inside the zoom shot, just so they knew’: Bella Ramsey on her audition call for ‘The Last of Us’

Bella Ramsey didn’t just start out in Hollywood with The Last of Us, but it could easily be considered her breakout role, broadcasting her name into millions of houses throughout HBO land. Her audition for the role of Ellie Williams was very extensive but she tells part of it where she used a subtle hint to get her foot in the door.

Some fans know her as Lyanna Mormont from Game of Thrones, which also could be the first time you saw her. However you know her, her acting career is on a whole new trajectory now and the future is going to be phenomenal for this one. In the meantime, she sat down with Michael Ordoña of the L.A. Times “Envelope Drama Roundtable” with Diego Luna of Andor, Helen Mirren of 1923, Christina Ricci of Yellowjackets, Patrick Stewart of Picard, and Jeremy Strong of Succession.

Of course, throughout the episode, she talked about her motivations in different scenes and her experiences with other actors who have influenced her along the way. Christina Ricci related with her emphatically when she was talking about the following from the video game and living up to her character, she said about not looking at Instagram for reviews because, “If she doesn’t see it, it doesn’t exist.”

When she talks about her audition on Zoom with Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann — the creators of the show — she says she positioned a guitar in the shot just to let them know she’s ready for that. She had done some music on camera before but nothing major and she anticipates having to play guitar, possibly, on future episodes of The Last of Us.

It’s reminiscent of Val Kilmer dousing himself with whiskey and smelling like cigarettes to walk into his audition and nail the lead role of The Doors. Emilia Clarke busted out the funky chicken and a robot dance to get her role in Game of Thrones. Bella Ramsey’s story might not be as wild as those but it is in the realm of what it takes sometimes to get the role they want when they tap into exactly what the role is about.

Ramsey has quite a few more seasons left in her for fans to look forward to in The Last of Us and don’t be surprised if you see her in one episode playing the guitar. However, she is on the cusp of a stellar career in Hollywood and it’s going to be a gift watching what roles she takes on throughout her career.