Bella Ramsey wore a chest binder while filming The Last of Us to focus better on set

14 February 2023, 15:39

Bella Ramsey talks Joel and Ellie's dynamic in The Last of Us episode 1

By Katie Louise Smith

Bella said they wore a chest binder for "90 per cent" of filming on The Last of Us, "which probably isn’t healthy, like please bind safely"

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Bella Ramsey has revealed they wore a chest binder while playing Ellie in The Last of Us.

Back in January, Bella shared that they are gender fluid in an interview with The New York Times. In the feature, Bella explained that their gender has "always been very fluid" and that "being gendered isn’t something that I particularly like, but in terms of pronouns, I really couldn’t care less.”

Now, in an interview with GQ UK, Bella has expanded on their feelings about their own on gender fluidity and revealed how they and co-star Pedro Pascal shared several conversations about gender and sexuality while filming.

Bella Ramsey opens up about wearing a binder on The Last of Us. Picture: Amy Sussman/GA/The Hollywood Reporter via Getty Images, HBO

In the profile, writer Jack King explains that Bella told him that they wore a chest binder for "90 per cent" of filming on The Last of Us, "which probably isn’t healthy, like please bind safely". The profile then adds that Bella wore it to allow them to focus better on set.

Bella didn't divulge any more about their experience wearing a binder, but did open up about playing female characters as a gender fluid, nonbinary person.

"This is what bothers me more than pronouns: being called a ‘young woman’ or a ‘powerful young woman’, ‘young lady,’ but I'm just not [that]," they said. "Catherine Called Birdy, I was in dresses. Young Elizabeth, I was in a corset. And I felt super powerful in that. Playing these more feminine characters is a chance to be something so opposite to myself, and it’s really fun."

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Elsewhere in the interview, Bella also shared how their relationship with The Last of Us co-star Pedro Pascal has developed since they started working together, likening him to a father.

Bella added that they also often shared conversations around gender and sexuality, as Pedro's sister, Lux Pascal, is trans.

"And they weren’t always deep: they could be funny and humorous, the whole spectrum," they said. "We were just very honest and open with each other."

[NOTE: This article has been updated to reflect Bella's use of they/them pronouns.]