The Last of Us Star Bella Ramsey Says They 'Can't Understand' the Huge Success of the Show; Calls It 'So Bizarre...'

When The Last of Us first premiered in 2023, it was a runaway hit, capturing fans' attention and catapulting the stars of the show, Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, into stardom. Since then, Ramsey has been trying to wrap their head around all of it.

Today's Craig Melvin read out the huge number of fans and views the first season of The Last of Us pulled. Ramsey admitted, "I can't understand those figures. So to me, that just is, just so bizarre," that so many people have watched their show. They added, "I can't conceptualize it." 

Pondering on what could have compelled so many people to love the series the way they do, Ramsey responds, "I think that because it's not really about the infection or the zombies, it's like the intense backdrop for really intimate and emotional story, and storylines, and relationships. So, I think the juxtaposition of that works so well."

Talking about the emotional storylines, the 21-year-old also got candid about playing Ellie in the show. They revealed that playing the character for "15 hours of the day, every day" for seven months of shooting the 2nd season, Bella and Ellie have become intertwined. "I definitely flip in and out of her. Like I'm not a method actor, I'm not in it all the time," but they admit "I become a bit more like Ellie, and Ellie becomes a bit more like me."

Pascal and Ramsey previously starred together in the popular HBO series, Game of Thrones, which marked their introduction to audiences. However, nothing has matched the success of their collaboration in the zombie apocalypse series.

ALSO READ: How The Last of Us Season 2 Reimagines the Game’s Most Controversial Storylines: From Joel-Ellie Arc to Changes in Abby's Future