DESPITE being one of the most talked-about young actresses today, with a lead role in a hit TV series, Bella Ramsey’s path to stardom was not easy.
A clip has been making the rounds showing the 19-year-old giving an interview last year to entertainment reporter and podcaster Kevin McCarthy. In the clip, Ramsey and director Lena Dunham were promoting the film Catherine Called Birdie, and McCarthy asked the two whether there was anything they would change about the early part of their careers.
Ramsey, who is non-binary and uses they/them pronouns, then told a story about how a director criticised their physical appearance during one of their very first auditions.
“The director really liked me, but I didn’t get the part because I didn’t have the ‘Hollywood look,’” Ramsey said in the brief snippet, using air quotes to emphasise the end of the statement. “And that’s something I’ve always found very interesting.”
Many netizens appeared stunned by the comment, with most saying that it was such a hurtful thing to say to a young child.
Fortunately, it was clear the criticism did nothing to stall Ramsey’s rise in Hollywood. They first came to attention for portraying the courageous child-warrior Lady Mormont in Game of Thrones, and has a prominent role as the vulnerable but brave Ellie in The Last of Us alongside co-star Pedro Pascal.
