The Last of Us star Bella Ramsey has opened up on their desire to play the 'complex' Joker in their next role.
Still only 20-years-old, the BAFTA-winning actor has a resumé far beyond their years.
Ramsey's break-out role as young noblewoman Lyanna Mormont came in Game of Thrones when they was just 13-years-old, from 2016 to 2019.
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Since their TV debut, the English actor hasn't looked back, with a lead role in post-apocalyptic drama The Last of Us, alongside Pedro Pascal, their new best best friend.
Ramsey seamlessly donned an American accent throughout and more than held their own alongside Pascal, who was named as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2023 by Time magazine.
Speaking of Time, Ramsey featured in season two of the BBC series of the same name.
Their unnervingly lifelike portrayal as a drug addict in prison was one of the reasons why Ramsey was named as one of the 42 people on this year's BAFTA Breakthrough list, which is BAFTA’s new talent initiative to accelerate extraordinary people working in the industry.
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"It's, it's a big honour. I think the word like BAFTA comes with so much prestige. Which is quite weird that I'm now associated with that. But really lovely. And yeah, an honour, I'm excited," they told LADbible.
Ramsey - who plays addict inmate Kelsey Morgan in Time - called it their 'toughest role yet'.
"By far the hardest in terms of like, the subject matter. And also, there were just big days on set, big, fast, long days," Ramsey explained.
"And I was yeah, it was first time I was working. I was away on my own without my mum there. So it was like it was really hard work, but I absolutely loved it. It was. Yeah, definitely my my toughest but one of my favourites."
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When looking forward to season two of The Last of Us, Ramsey thinks it will top season one.
"I know that that's like the big fear, that all of us working on the show, and probably the rest of the world have, is that season two isn't gonna be as good as season one," they continued.
"But I have a lot of faith in the creators. And I think they're spectacular. So I think I think we're going to do great, I think we will top it."
On their friendship with Pascal, they said they were really worried that they wouldn't get along.
"I was really worried that we wouldn't get on or we wouldn't click or something," Ramsey said.
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"I was like because we were going to spend this year together and then we were gonna have to do lots of press afterwards.
"And I was like, oh, no, I was so scared that we won't get on.
"So it was a big relief. And we did in fact, get on, but we were very shy of each other to begin with.
"And then we started spending lots of time in like a car on set together, it bonded us for sure."
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From playing a drug addict, to a young woman living in 13th-century Lincolnshire, or an orphan in post-apocalyptic America, Ramsey has said that they want their next role to be completely different.
The talented 20-year-old revealed they would love to play an 'intricate' and 'complex baddy'.
"I've not really played a villain yet. So I want to play a baddy. But like a really interesting, intricate, complex baddy," they said.
When asked about playing the Joker - without hesitation - Ramsey replied: "Yeah. I was actually thinking that as well. The Joker, someone really interesting like that."
Joaquin Phoenix and Heath Ledger's portrayal of the Joker has set the bar pretty high, but Ramsey is more than ready to tackle the role.
Ramsey noted they would also be more than open to playing a Hannibal Lecter type character.
I think we would all love to see that.
The Nottingham-born actor - who quickly transitioned from humble beginnings to the world stage - also revealed how fame hasn't got to their head.
"I actually think that my journey through the industry has been done in a way that I'm really pleased about," Ramsey said.
"Like, I think we chose the right route in terms of when Game of Thrones, everything started coming out.
"We chose the route of doing absolutely nothing, do like no interviews, give no personal information, just like it was so terrifying.
"While my parents were so terrified that we just sort of kept everything very private, barely did any interviews, like three phone call interviews.
"And I'm really proud of that. And I'm really glad that I was up until The Last of Us, like I was fairly anonymous, even though I've done like, other work.
"That was pretty lovely. So I think that I'm pretty pleased with how it's gone.
"And then even since The Last Of Us, the internet knows nothing about my family or my home life or my personal life really at all, which is good.
"And I want to protect that."
Ramsey has been named as one of the 42 ‘must-watch’ creatives working in film, games and television from UK, USA and India invited to join this year’s BAFTA Breakthrough cohort.
BAFTA Breakthrough is the arts charity’s flagship new talent initiative in partnership with Netflix, offering year-round programme of industry meetings and professional development opportunities
Celebrating its tenth anniversary this year, alumni include Josh O’Connor, Florence Pugh, Jessie Buckley, Jim LeBrecht, Letitia Wright, Paapa Essiedu, Tom Holland, Lauren Ridloff, Brandon Perea, Laurie Nunn and Sarah Lampert.
This year's participants have been involved with some of the most exciting creative debuts and projects over the last year. Selected by a jury comprised of leading cross-industry figures led by BAFTA sector committee chairs and members including Ade Rawcliffe, Sara Putt, Emily Stillman, Emma Morgan and Anisa Sanusi in the UK and Aadip Desai (USA) and Guneet Monga (India) the full list of this year’s BAFTA Breakthroughs is as follows:
UK BREAKTHROUGHS (20):
● Adjani Salmon, writer/performer/exec producer – Dreaming Whilst Black
● Bella Ramsey, performer – The Last of Us
● Cash Carraway, creator/writer/exec producer – Rain Dogs
● Charlotte Regan, writer/director – Scrapper
● Cynthia De La Rosa, hair & makeup artist – Everyone Else Burns
● Ella Glendining, director – Is There Anybody Out There?
● Funmi Olutoye, lead producer – ‘Black History Makers’ (Good Morning Britain)
● Georgia Oakley, writer/director – Blue Jean
● Holly Reddaway, voice and performance director – Baldur’s Gate 3
● Joel Beardshaw, lead designer - Desta: The Memories Between
● Kat Morgan, hair & makeup designer – Blue Jean
● Kathryn Ferguson, writer/director – Nothing Compares
● Kitt (Fiona) Byrne, 2D artist/game designer - Gibbon: Beyond the Trees
● Michael Anderson, producer - Desta: The Memories Between
● Pete Jackson, writer/creator – Somewhere Boy
● Raine Allen-Miller, director – Rye Lane
● Rosy McEwen, performer – Blue Jean
● Samantha Béart, performer - The Excavation of Hob's Barrow
● Talisha ‘Tee Cee’ Johnson, writer/director/presenter – Too Autistic for Black
● Vivian Oparah, performer – Rye Lane
US BREAKTHROUGHS (12):
● Amanda Kim, documentary director - Nam June Paik: Moon Is The Oldest TV
● Aminah Nieves, performer - 1923
● Apoorva Charan, producer - Joyland
● Cheyenne Pualani Morrin, senior games writer - Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
● Edward Buckles Jr. documentary director - Katrina Babies
● Gary Gunn, composer - A Thousand and One
● Jingyi Shao, writer & director - Chang Can Dunk
● Maria Altamirano, producer - All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt
● Santiago Gonzalez, cinematographer - Shortcomings
● Shelly Yo, writer & director - Smoking Tigers
● Sing J Lee, writer & director - The Accidental Getaway Driver
● Vuk Lungulov-Klotz, writer & director - Mutt
INDIA BREAKTHROUGHS (10):
● Abhay Koranne, writer - Rocket Boys
● Abhinav Tyagi, editor - An Insignificant Man
● Don Chacko Palathara, director/writer - Joyful Mystery
● Kislay, director – Soni
● Lipika Singh Darai, director/writer - Some Stories Around Witches
● Miriam Chandy Menacherry, producer - From the Shadows and The Leopard's Tribe
● Pooja Rajkumar Rathod, cinematographer - Secrets of the Elephants
● Sanal George, sound editor/mixer/designer - Gangubai Kathiawadi
● Satya Rai Nagpaul, cinematographer – Ghoomketu
● Shardul Bhardwaj, performer - Eeb Allay Ooo!
Topics: Celebrity, TV and Film, BAFTAs
Anish Vij