Pedro Pascal pays emotional tribute to Bella Ramsey: ‘They brought out the best of me’
Pedro Pascal has said he’s never met anyone like his The Last of Us co-star Bella Ramsey.
Ramsey and Pascal captured viewers’ hearts as Joel and Ellie, creating a sweet father-daughter dynamic in HBO’s hit post-apocalyptic series. Now they’ve proved their bond is just as strong off-screen by showering each other with compliments and giving the world plenty of heartfelt red-carpet moments.
Affectionately dubbed the internet’s “cool, slutty daddy”, Pascal opened up further about how Ramsey has changed his life for the better, during an interview with Beef‘s Steven Yeun for Variety’s Actors on Actors series.
“I could tell they were cool. I knew that,” he said about his first impressions of genderfluid Ramsey.
In the show, an embittered and closed off Joel takes scrappy queer teen Ellie under his wing as they travel across a danger-ridden country to find a cure for the virus that has ravaged humanity. Naturally, they grow to care deeply for each other along the way.
“I couldn’t have asked for a more anchoring, generous, thoughtful teenager,” Pascal continued. “And I don’t mean to say that in a patronising way. They were 17.
“They had their 18th birthday while we were shooting, and that could have sucked. I relied on Bella for so much of the experience. We were both scared and shy about that, but Bella just inspired me to be mature about it.”
Yeun then pointed out the power of their on-screen chemistry during the emotional final scene of the season, to which Pascal replied: “I really don’t think I’ve met anybody like Bella. They brought the best out of me as a person.”
It’s not the first time Pascal has opened up about his immense respect for his co-star. While picking up the MTV best duo award on behalf of both of them, he said: “I miss you. I love you. You are the duo… you are me, I am you. I wish Bella and I were together, and we will be soon, so stay tuned.”
Speaking over video, Ramsey added: “Me and Pedro love each other deeply. I love him, and I couldn’t imagine doing this without him.”
In a separate interview with French fashion monthly L’Officiel, Ramsey talked about their own perspective of the early days of the relationship, and how a friendship quickly blossomed.
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“I adore him,” they said. “He’s just a very safe person. I felt instantly safe with him and was so relieved that we got along.
“I was so worried. I put so much pressure on our relationship because I knew that we had the rest of the year together, then press and more seasons. The minute that I actually let go of that pressure, we bonded.
“He’s the best. He’s so kind and generous and we had a lot of fun. We were like two little kids messing about.”
Ramsey and Pascal will reunite on screen for the second season of the show, which begins filming later this year, and the story lines will include Ellie exploring her identity as a lesbian, finding love and, as per usual, fighting evil mushroom viruses.
The Last of Us season one is available to stream on Max in the US.