Bella Ramsey stepped into massive shoes when they took on the role of Ellie Williams in HBO’s adaptation of The Last of Us. The character was already played to utter perfection by Ashley Johnson in the Naughty Dog games the television series is based on, and many viewers were skeptical of Ramsey’s ability to pull the character off.
That skepticism was unfounded, of course, which Ramsey quickly proved over the course of the first season. They’d already flexed their acting chops — at the young age of 11 — on Game of Thrones, quickly becoming a fan favorite character. And they were just as popular in The Last of Us, despite the fact that a good few years separated them from their character.
Ellie is only 14 in the post-apocalyptic series, but Ramsey was 19 during the filming of the first season, necessitating some creative movie magic to ensure that Ramsey looks the part. Careful lighting, angles, and creative decisions do most of the work for them, and Ramsey’s real-life height does the rest.
Bella Ramsey’s height
Actors often play characters a few years younger than themselves in films and movies, which can present some common challenges, the younger the character is within the story. Ramsey is still young enough to pull off the youthful look necessary to bring a 14-year-old Ellie to life, and — conveniently — they’re the perfect age to play Ellie in Part II, which sees the character continue the story at age 19.
Ramsey was clearly a fair bit shorter than her co-stars in Season 1 of The Last of Us, but the 20-year-old might be shorter even than people realized. They stand at 5 foot 1½ inches tall, making them right around the same height as Wednesday breakout star Jenna Ortega. They’re also within a few inches of Ellie’s canonical in-game height of 5’3 — when she’s 14, that is.
By the time she hits 19, Ellie is supposed to be around 5’5, but that’s a tall order for the diminutive Ramsey. We’ll get a different, shorter, but just as emotionally impactful, version of the iconic character with Season 2 of The Last of Us, which is slated to begin filming in 2024.
The first season of The Last of Us is available to stream on Max.