The Last Of Us' Bella Ramsey calls for more 'space' for non-binary actors at awards

The Last of Us’ Bella Ramsey calls for more ‘space’ for non-binary actors at awards ceremonies.

When The Last of Us live-action adaptation from HBO launched earlier this year, it became one of the most popular series on the planet, even rivalling the likes of Game of Thrones. In fact, The Last of Us has proved to be such a success, that we’re going to get at least two or three more seasons.

No doubt, as a result of its success, The Last of Us' debut season will be among the contenders to win a collection of prestigious awards throughout this year, including for its two main leads, Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, who play Joel and Ellie, respectively.

However, as reported by our friends at UNILAD, if those awards come calling, and they most likely will, Bella Ramsey has called for more inclusivity by finding a middle ground when it comes to gender categorisation.

“The categories at the moment feel extremely gendered with the language around them,” Bella told Vanity Fair. What’s more, Ramsey revealed that they considered withdrawing from the Emmy Awards due to the lack of non-gendered categories.

Thankfully, after having a discussion with the showrunner of the HBO series, Craig Mazin, Ramsey did not withdraw but instead decided to represent and celebrate non-binary actors. Still, questions should be asked about non-binary actors having to be somewhat content with being categorised as a gender just to be acknowledged for their work.

“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,” the actor continued. “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.”

“For [non-binary and nonconforming people] to have a say and be part of those discussions and those conversations, that’s really important,” added Ramsey. “I just hope there’s more space for non-binary people to be recognized within [future] categories.”

At the time of writing, The Last of Us season two does not have a release date, but it seems that HBO may have recently dropped a hint as to when it might arrive.