Actor Bella Ramsey says hit TV show The Last Of Us has “amped up a level” from season one.
The actor, 21, who has also starred in Game Of Thrones and Catherine Called Birdy, plays Ellie in the post-apocalyptic drama, also starring Pedro Pascal as Joel, which is returning for a second series.
They added: “[Filming] was pretty smooth sailing. It was hard work, as it always is, and especially this season, it’s amped up a level from season one,” they told the PA news agency at the show’s London premiere.
“So it was tough, long days, but the whole cast and crew just bonded together so well. It made it a really incredible experience.”
But it won’t all be bleak action as Joel and Ellie fight the cordyceps-infected horde — and their fellow humans — once again.
“There’s lots of humour, lots of jokes,” said Ramsey. “Dina (Isabela Merced) brings a lot of the humour for the season. So it’s a bit of a combo.”
Merced, 23, who plays Ramsey’s love interest in the series, told PA there are “a lot of extremes” in the show.
Also at the premiere was the series co-creator and co-director Craig Mazin, who said the show has “opened the door for a lot of other shows” based on computer games.
He added: “I think in the last 20 years, the story aspect of gameplay has really been developed and I also think Hollywood has finally woken up to the fact that the game industry is massive, with just the most profoundly deep and broad fandom.
“It’s not just the people they think are fans of video games, so many people play, all ages, all genders.
“There are some great properties out there. I think happily, the fact that our show did well, I think, has opened the door for a lot of other shows, and that’s very gratifying.”
Ramsey received an Emmy nomination in 2023 for their role in The Last Of Us, but lost out to Succession’s Sarah Snook.
The second series takes place five years on from series one, which was set amid a parasitic fungal infection that had ravaged the planet and turned humans into violent creatures known as the Infected.
In the UK it will air on Sky from April 14 and the series has now been renewed for a third season by HBO.
