Unless you’ve been taking a digital detox over the past few weeks, you’ve more than likely heard about HBO’s The Last of Us, starring Game of Thrones alumni Bella Ramsey and Pedro Pascal. Based on the video game of the same name from developers Naughty Dog, the 2013 PlayStation exclusive follows a hard-bitten smuggler, Joel, who’s tasked with transporting sarcastic teenager Ellie across a post-apocalyptic United States decades after a fungal infection runs rampant across the globe. Although some diehard fans might have been skeptical when Ramsey was cast as Ellie, she’s proving to be a worthy successor to Ashley Johnson’s video game iteration.
At just 19 years old, Ramsey has an impressive filmography under her belt, which she acquired since starting her acting career as nothing more than a hobby at the age of four. She attended the Loughborough branch of Stagecoach Theatre Arts for seven years before graduating to the British Television Workshop, an organization that trains young acting talent. She then began auditioning for professional roles from 11 onwards. Her first credited role didn’t come until 2016, where she landed the part of Lyanna Mormont in HBO’s Game of Thrones. Ramsey would reach even greater heights in the years to come, so let’s take a look at some of her most significant and memorable performances.
Judy — Lorna Luft
Starring Renée Zellweger as the incomparable Judy Garland, who rose to fame as Dorothy Gale in The Wizard of Oz, Judy is a biographical drama inspired by the star’s life and career. Directed by Rupert Goold, it is also an adaptation of the West End and Broadway play, End of the Rainbow, by Peter Quilter. Judy chronicles the final year of Garland’s life, wherein her sell-out concerts eventually stop making progress and her health deteriorates. Jessie Buckley, Finn Wittrock, Rufus Sewell, and Michael Gambon co-star as Rosalyn Wilder, Mickey Deans, Sidney Luft, and Bernard Delfont, respectively. Ramsey plays a minor role as Lorna Luft, an actress, author, singer, and Judy Garland’s daughter. She isn’t in it much, but she somehow steals each scene as if she’s in Zellweger’s shoes, and the pressure’s on to perform. We’d say that Ramsey does a stand-up job of depicting Lorna for an audience that might have never heard her name before or might be unaware of her relation to Garland.
Resistance — Elsbeth
The 2020 biographical drama, Resistance, stars Zombieland‘s Jesse Eisenberg as Marcel Marceau, a French actor and mime artist whose fame he owes to his stage persona, “Bip the Clown.” During his childhood, Marceau, who was of Jewish descent, lived in secrecy and worked with the French Resistance during most of World War II. Ramsey has another minor role, this time portraying Elsbeth, the daughter of Édgar RamÃrez’s Sigmund and Klára Issová’s Judith, both of whom were killed in 1938 when Nazi Brown Shirts invaded their home and gunned them down.
Elsbeth doesn’t appear again beyond the dramatic and frightful opening scene to set the tone, but Bella’s perceived innocence is so convincing that it’s even more devastating when she’s left orphaned by German forces. Clémence Poésy, Matthias Schweighöfer, Alicia von Rittberg, Félix Moati, Géza Röhrig, Karl Markovics, Vica Kerekes, and Ed Harris co-star alongside Eisenberg. While the budget is unclear, Resistance managed to reel in $449,753 at the box office, which isn’t a very hefty take-home, but at least it’s another notch under Ramsey’s belt.
Hilda and the Mountain King — Hilda
Veering away from live-action for a moment, Hilda and the Mountain King is a hidden gem. Released on Netflix back in December 2021, this 2D-animated adventure film, directed by Andy Coyle, adapts the sixth edition of the Hilda graphic novels by Luke Pearson. It acts as a continuation from the second-season finale of the Hilda animated series, in which Ramsey also voices the titular Hilda. When she wakes up in the body of a troll, she sets off on a journey to become human again and save the city of Trolberg from destruction.
It’s impressive for a 17-year-old Ramsey to pull off a great performance with just her voice where it is arguably much harder to convey emotion and sincerity than acting with one’s body. At the 2022 Children’s and Family Emmy Awards, Hilda and the Mountain King won Outstanding Directing for an Animated Program and Outstanding Main Titles and Graphics. The story itself doesn’t need to be taken too seriously, which is precisely what makes it so enjoyable.
Catherine Called Birdy — Lady Catherine
In one of her only title roles, Ramsey stars as Lady Catherine in the 2022 medieval comedy film, Catherine Called Birdy. The film follows Catherine, a 14-year-old headstrong and rambunctious Englishwoman. Also known as Birdy, she lives in Lincolnshire with her parents and 17-year-old monk brother. Catherine’s father, Rollo, sees his daughter as an opportunity to crawl out of financial ruin by marrying her off to a wealthy man in exchange for money and land. Birdy, however, has other ideas; she aspires to join the crusades and be a warrior, much to the dismay of her parents.
Landing the role of Catherine was a pivotal turning point in Ramsey’s career, taking her even further than Game of Thrones, which few would have thought possible. Billie Piper, Andrew Scott, Lesley Sharp, Joe Alwyn, and Sophie Okonedo co-star, but it’s Ramsey who’s a real gift from the gods in this one.
Game of Thrones — Lyanna Mormont
How could we list off Ramsey’s most timeless performances without mentioning her first-ever credited role? Lyanna Mormont was the Lady of Bear Island. She became the head of House Mormont following the death of her mother, Maege Mormont, in the War of the Five Kings. She appears in seasons six, seven, and eight. First introduced in “The Broken Man,” she lasted nine episodes overall until “The Last of the Starks,” when only her corpse is pictured.
Sadly, Ramsey only had a short run as 13-year-old Lady Mormont, who dies in “The Long Night” after being crushed in the fist of a wight giant. She was resurrected by the Night King, but once the Night King perishes at the hands of Arya Stark, Lyanna is subsequently killed for good in the Battle of Winterfell.
The Lady of Bear Island might have died far too soon, but Ramsey left her mark on the character and the fanbase, who quickly resonated with her following the character’s untimely death. Even when Game of Thrones ended, Lyanna Mormont’s name was still being tossed about.
The Worst Witch — Mildred Hubble
Having been adapted several times over from Jill Murphy’s 1974 novel series, The Worst Witch received a new adaptation in 2017 for Netflix. Ramsey was cast as Mildred Hubble, an unconventional witch studying at Miss Cackle’s Academy for Witches. Hubble discovers that she’s a witch quite early on, despite coming from a non-magical family. She befriends Maud Spellbody, played by Meibh Campbell, who helps her get admitted to Miss Cackle’s Academy. There she must learn the ways of witchcraft in order to save the school from annihilation at the hands of an embittered Agatha Cackle.
Although Ramsey had some big shoes to fill with this role, she managed to put her own spin on it and make it wholly hers, thereby delighting and enchanting all those with the pleasure of watching her. The series lasted three years until the fourth—and presumably last—season aired in October 2020. For her role as Mildred, Ramsey not only won Young Performer at the British Academy Children’s Awards in 2018, she also snagged the same award the following year.
Becoming Elizabeth — Jane Grey
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Ramsey is nailing the role of Ellie on The Last of Us since she has plentiful experience in the drama genre. Starz’ historical series, Becoming Elizabeth, saw Ramsey portray a young Lady Jane Grey who was Queen of England for just nine days. The eldest daughter of Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk, Jane Grey claimed the throne of England and Ireland from July 10 until July 19, 1553. After her reign ended, she was beheaded on charges of high treason in 1554.
The series chronicles the youth of Elizabeth I, played by Alicia von Rittberg, who climbs the ranks from an orphaned teenager to the eventual Queen of England. Romola Garai, Jessica Raine, and Tom Cullen co-star with Ramsey, who provides a gripping and realistic performance of Jane Grey, whose personality we’re only privy to through literature. Becoming Elizabeth aired eight episodes from June to August 2022 and has yet to be renewed for another season.
Published: Jan 27, 2023 08:27 am