Bella Ramsey has spoken for the first time about being diagnosed with autism.
The British actor has previously disclosed that they were told that they were neurodivergent while working on the first season of The Last Of Us.
Ahead of the show’s return next month, the Emmy nominee opened up more about their diagnosis during an interview with British Vogue.
“I’ve spoken a bit about neurodivergence before, but I always for some reason didn’t want to… I felt like I didn’t want to say what it was,” they said, before sharing: “I got diagnosed with autism when I was filming season one of The Last Of Us.”
Describing the diagnosis as “freeing”, Bella continued: “It enables me to walk through the world with more grace towards myself about not being able to do the easy everyday tasks that everyone else seems to be able to do.”
The former Game Of Thrones star told British Vogue they first pursued an autism diagnosis after a crew member on The Last Of Us who had a child with autism “assumed” that Bella did too.
According to the magazine, this diagnosis confirmed something Bella had “always wondered” about themself, having grown up feeling out of place and often experienced sensory issues and what Vogue described as a “painful hyperawareness of other people’s micro-expressions and body language”, which are often associated with people within the autism community.
Bella is currently gearing up for the return of The Last Of Us, in which they reprise their acclaimed performance as Ellie from the first series.
They’ll be reunited with co-star and friend Pedro Pascal, as well as new additions to the cast like Kaitlyn Dever, Catherine O’Hara, Danny Ramirez and Young Maziono.
Read Bella Ramsey’s full interview in British Vogue here. The Last Of Us returns to UK screens on 14 April.