Bella Ramsey And Pedro Pascal Fostered A Bond Making The Last Of Us That Transcends The HBO Show
Quick Links
Thanks to the new hit series The Last of Us, Sunday nights on HBO are as exciting as ever. The highly anticipated television show is based on a video game of the same name, and fans are going absolutely wild over it.
While there has been some pushback from avid fans of the game, the consensus among nearly all the critics and viewers of the show is that it's a phenomenal adaptation. The show has made slight changes throughout the story arc but ultimately pays homage to its source material in a beautiful and dynamic way.
Most importantly, the series lead characters, Joel and Ellie, played by Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, respectively, are fantastic together. While Joel isn't Ellie's father, he takes on the role of caretaker for the young girl. Despite their best efforts, they form a familial bond during their journey across post-apocalyptic America.
Not only do Pedro and Bella embody the characters of Joel and Ellie perfectly, but the pair also have palpable onscreen chemistry. They're not faking it either, with the two forming an incredible friendship while filming the series. "It was just a match made in heaven, and I love her," Pedro said in an interview with HBO when talking about working with Bella. Below, we dig into how their friendship developed and see how the two plan to keep in contact post-show.
Did Bella Ramsey And Pedro Pascal Meet Before The Last Of Us?
Despite Pedro and Bella having huge guest starring roles on the hit HBO series Game of Thrones, they hadn't met before filming The Last of Us. Fans of the show will remember Pedro for playing Oberyn Martell in season four and his epic death scene, which took place at the hands of The Mountain. Bella played the iconic Lyanna Mormont in seasons six through eight of the series.
Game of Thrones was actually Bella's first foray into acting, so it's even more coincidental that the two ended up on the show, granted, at different times. "I don't think that I'd be an actor if it wasn't for Game of Thrones, 'cause I never really set out to be [one], and then it sort of happened," said Bella during an interview with Entertainment Weekly
Pedro is thankful for the connection Game of Thrones gave him and Bella and thinks it's added to both their performances in the show and their friendship.
"I feel like it made us come from a family without knowing each other already. To have two characters that the fans liked make their entrance and make their exit is parallel for the both of us and a kind of bonding thing before we even got a chance to bond. So, yes, I am grateful for that," said Pedro in the same interview with Entertainment Weekly
The two never had a chance to become friends before filming began, with Ellie admitting their friendship developed similarly to the bond Ellie and Joel create over time.
"We didn't get a chance to meet or bond before we started filming. We were very much just thrown in. And that chemistry was just there immediately and just grew and developed as Joel and Ellie's did. As their relationship developed, so did ours," said Bella in an interview with GameRant.com.
"And I think that was a very nice parallel and, yeah, maybe it was intentional on Neil and Craig's (the show creators) behalf. To not give us time to like meet and bond. I think it worked really well."
Are Bella Ramsey And Pedro Pascal Close Friends?
Bella Ramsey and Pedro Pascal have become very close friends, and the two don't see that changing anytime soon. "We initially had this connection in that we were about to embark on this year-long shooting process together and even longer than that in terms of the impact of the show and all of the press we're doing now," said Bella to Game Rant. "So we sort of had to get along, and thankfully we did, and it wasn't hard at all."
"It's true, it was very parallel in terms of like getting to know each other by stepping onto the set at the same time and getting in front of the camera and getting the story. And our shyness with one another and invented expectations of one another just faded away," said Pedro to Game Rant. "And since I got the Daddy vibes in place from the get-go, I guess I just had to take it from there."
The pair crafted fun nicknames for each other on the set, with Pedro calling Bella "Bellie" and Bella calling Pedro "Pedge." They also would take their mics off when filming drone shots of the two horseback riding and take that time to chat about life. Pedro further explained to Game Rant that not only did they like each other, but by the end of filming, they also really knew each other.
"Pedro wrote a little card to me at the end, saying, 'How interesting that something so huge and life-changing should happen so early in your life and so late in mine.' I thought it was a really sweet observation, and I just had the best time," said Bella to USA Today.
Do Bella Ramsey And Pedro Pascal Hang Out?
We honestly don't know how much Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey hang out outside filming. We haven't seen the pair together outside the press tour for the show, however, thanks mainly to the incredibly jam-packed schedules the two actors have days. Not only is The Last of Us one of the most watched shows on the planet right now, but they're also both in high demand thanks to their stellar performances on the show.
According to his IMDB, Pedro is slated to star in five upcoming projects. Bella is expected to return for The Last of Us Season 2 and is voicing the character Molly in the highly anticipated Chicken Run: Dawn of The Nugget. She's also undoubtedly caught the eyes of numerous casting producers in Hollywood with her performance as Ellie.
Just because they can't be together doesn't mean they aren't checking in, though. Pedro posted a picture of him and Bella FaceTiming to his Instagram story, saying, "I'll take what I can get." Bella and Pedro have also been spotted hyping each other up in their Instagram comment sections.
It's clear the two have truly made an impact on each other. Speaking with The Independent, Bella explained that the actors were able to get really personal with each other on set. They frequently had frank conversations about life and even their views on sexuality and gender.
The actress herself identifies as non-binary, and Pedro has always been an outspoken advocate for the LGBTQ+ community. "They weren't always deep: they could be funny and humorous, the whole spectrum. We were just very honest and open with each other," said Bella about her conversations with Pedro to The Independent.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbTErZ%2Bippeoe6S7zGiZnqSclnqzrcysnLJloJqxs7uMqZism5Gheq2t0q1kqJ5dqsBustGinKeco522sXs%3D