When it comes to Hollywood stars, there’s only a handful of actors who have spoken about being on the autism spectrum. The Last of Us’s Bella Ramsey is helping normalize being part of the community that is estimated to include over 60 million people around the world. After previously opening up about getting their diagnosis while working on the video game adaptation, Ramsey has now shared why they believe having autism helps them with acting.
When the actor was filming Season 1 of The Last of Us, they got their diagnosis after a crew member with an autistic daughter inspired them to get a psychiatric assessment and diagnosis. Once they got their diagnosis, the actor told British Vogue it confirmed something they “always wondered” about.
In Ramsey’s latest interview with Them, here’s how they talked about it further:
For acting, I’m picking up the nuances of people’s faces and their emotions, the things that they say and how they say them, and what sort of emotional feeling is feeding into that eye twitch or that mouth movements. That stuff I’ve absorbed like a sponge, and have all this knowledge of what it’s like to be different people just by watching them.
In the new interview, it was also explained how the diagnosis detailed how “highly perceptive” they are, which definitely plays into being “hyper-aware” of others’ emotions, micro-expressions and body language.
The Game of Thrones actor previously spoke about how the diagnosis helped them come to terms with feeling out of place in school when they were younger or having sensory issues, such as not being a fan of wearing thermals on set in Canada.
Acting also works well with their autism because being on set plays into their love of routine. Ramsey has called having the diagnosis “freeing,” and it allowed them to “walk through the world with more grace towards” themselves.
Per UCLA Health, research has shown that nearly 80% of people assigned female at birth, in particular, are undiagnosed as of 18. Having a diagnosis is important because it can explain symptoms and offer more resources and support to feel more confident when making friends with one’s autism and going about the world.
Outside of Ramsey’s autism diagnosis, the actor, who is non-binary, has spoken up about their thoughts on gendered awards categories and suddenly getting famous at a young age because of their role in The Last Of Us.
Ramsey’s place on the 2025 TV schedule as the lead of The Last Of Us Season 2 has just ended following the finale of Season 2, but we can’t wait to see what’s next for the 21-year-old Brit.
It’s still a rarity for actors to speak about autism, so certainly more people will read Ramsey’s comments and perhaps be inspired to explore the condition if they can relate to the actor’s story.
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