Bella Ramsey has a change of heart about gendered acting categories at award shows.
Two years after The Last of Us star, 21, noted that gendered categories made them “uncomfortable,” Ramsey — who uses they/them pronouns — explained on The Louis Theroux Podcast that it is important “recognition for women in the industry is preserved.”
“I think the gendered categories conversation is a really interesting one,” they shared. “I don’t have the answer and I wish that there was something that was an easy way around it, but I think that it is really important that we have a female category and a male category.”
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Bella Ramsey attends the 2023 TIME100 Next event at Second Floor on October 24, 2023 in New York City.
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Ramsey explained that they considered categories could be based on “the character portrayed,” however, they realized that wouldn’t allow for non-binary characters — which they said are “few and far between at the moment” — to be represented.
The Game of Thrones alum admitted that they are not comfortable with the label of “actress.” They said, “I have a guttural, ‘That’s not quite right,’ instinct to it. But I just don’t take it too seriously … it doesn’t feel like an attack on my identity.”
When asked if they ever felt “female,” Ramsey said, “No, never.”
However, Ramsey noted that they rejected the word “non-binary” for “so long” because they didn’t want it to be considered “trendy.”
“It’s been very obvious since I was young,” they said. “I always called myself a tomboy, but it wasn’t that I was a boyish girl, I was always, like, a bit of an in-between. Leaning most of the boys side.”
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Bella Ramsey in ‘The Last of Us’
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Ramsey continued, “To be honest, I grew up more as a little boy than I did a little girl. I always felt more masculine or more on that side of the spectrum. I guess at the moment I don’t feel like I have access to femininity.”
Ramsey’s comments come two years after the star — who was nominated for lead actress in a drama series at the 2024 Emmys — told Vanity Fair that they were “uncomfortable” entering either gendered lead-acting categories at the awards ceremony.
“The categories at the moment feel extremely gendered with the language around them,” Ramsey shared at the time.
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“I don’t want the limitations in terms of the language in the categories to be a reason that non-binary actors like me can’t be celebrated… And it can open up a conversation about how it feels – as long as I’m aware of the fact that it’s not ideal, but also that finding alternatives is really complex,” they continued.
“For [non-binary people] to have a say and be part of those discussions and those conversations, that’s really important… I just hope there’s more space for non-binary people to be recognised within [future] categories.”
The Last of Us airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and can be streamed on Max.
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