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Last Of Us Ellie Actor Was 'Encouraged Not To Play the Game'


The Last of Us is set to be released on HBO in 2023, set in a post-apocalyptic world as we follow characters Joel (played by Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (played by Bella Ramsey) on their journey of survival to find a cure for a horrifying plague that spread and extinguished a majority of mankind. Watch the Last of Us teaser trailer below:

The creative team have been exerting efforts to ensure a faithful adaptation of the video game, as we can tell from the trailer alone, which is presumed to follow the story timeline of the game itself, starting with Joel’s hometown. Pedro Pascal nails the gruff-looking Joel looking after Ellie, with a few sneak peeks of Bella Ramsey as Ellie.

However, despite the creative team’s plans, they encouraged at least one cast member not to play the game. In a USA Today interview, Bella Ramsey, soon to star as Ellie in The Last of Us series, shares that she was told not to play the game beforehand.

“I was actually encouraged not to. After my first audition, they asked me, ‘Have you played it?’ And I said, ‘Nope,’ and they said, ‘Keep it that way.’ I did watch some of the game play on YouTube just to get a sense of it.”

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Perhaps this is a strategy to keep the actress on her toes, especially when Ellie (in-game) also started out as innocent and naïve about the world. As such, Bella not being able to fully immerse in the game could prove to be an advantage as she would later find out how in-game Ellie’s character develops as more of the story unfolds. She could easily take her own spin on it and make the show's Ellie her own.

Bella actually admits her love for the incoming show premiere after shooting for a whole year: “I’m so excited for it to come out — it was such a big part of my life. I shot for a whole year, which is quite a long time when you’ve only lived for 19 years.”

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Pedro even wrote her an endearing little card that said, ‘How interesting that something so huge and life-changing should happen so early in your life and so late in mine.’

It would be interesting to see how Bella perceives Ellie and how she plans to execute her journey with Joel in the series. Expect more updates here on Epicstream.

Also Read: HBO's The Last of Us Finds Their Own Henry and Sam


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