Bella Ramsey Reveals They Were Diagnosed with Autism While Filming The Last of Us

In an interview with British Vogue for its April 2025 cover story, the actor — who is non-binary and uses they/them pronouns — revealed they were diagnosed with autism while filming the first season of The Last of Us.

“I’ve spoken a bit about neurodivergence before, but I always for some reason didn’t want to…” Ramsey, 21, began, trailing off. “I felt like I didn’t want to say what it was… Shoot.”

“I got diagnosed with autism when I was filming season one of The Last of Us,” they then shared.

Ramsey — who stars as Ellie in the HBO post-apocalyptic drama — called their autism diagnosis “freeing.”

“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,” they told British Vogue.

The National Institute of Mental Health defines autism or autism spectrum disorder (ASD) “neurological and developmental disorder that affects how people interact with others, communicate, learn, and behave.”

As they noted, Ramsey previously shared they were diagnosed as neurodivergent. The Game of Thrones alum told ELLE in 2023 that they received the diagnosis when they were 18 while filming the first season of The Last of Us in Alberta, Canada, which was shot from July 2021 until June 2022.

However, at the time, they didn’t share specifics. During their interview with British Vogue, Ramsey recalled how a crew member on the series who has an autistic daughter believed they had it as well, noting that this ultimately led them to an official psychiatric diagnosis.

They said it was something they had “always wondered about,” adding that they felt like a “weirdo” and a “loner” growing up. Ramsey also said they also experience sensory issues and hyperawareness of others’ micro-expressions. Regarding the former, Ramsey cited an example of the outerwear required for shooting in Canada, telling the magazine it’s “too much stuff on my body.”

Meanwhile, Ramsey said that having autism is a helpful tool for their acting career.

“I’ve always been watching and learning from people. Having to learn more manually how to socialize and interact with the people around me has helped me with acting,” they said, adding that having a routine on set also works to their benefit. “I have a call time, and I’m told what to wear, how to stand, where to stand and what to eat.”

The Catherine Called Birdie star also reflected on their decision to come out as non-binary in 2023.

“Part of the job of being an actor is that you’re supposed to have an answer to every question that people ask you,” they said. “But actually the answer can be: ‘I don’t know and I’m not ready to talk about that,’ and that’s something that I’m still figuring out.”

Ramsey shared how this relates to revealing their autism diagnosis.

“The label of being autistic has been so helpful to me because that’s helped me to understand myself, but gender and sexuality-wise, labels do not feel comfy for me in any capacity, because I feel like I’m putting myself into a box,” they said. “I feel trapped.”

The Emmy nominee admitted that it makes them feel “sad” knowing that people, unlike themselves, who aren’t in the spotlight have the “privilege” to navigate their sexuality

“It does make me a bit sad that people who aren’t in the public eye can explore their gender identity or sexuality in private,” they said. “That’s a privilege I don’t really get any more. If I did want to explore other things, like facets of my gender identity, that would be done publicly. As much as I would try and keep it private, if someone recognizes me on the street, say if I’m presenting differently, [and] takes a photo, then that is just talked about.”

As for their autism diagnosis, however, Ramsey said they can “unmask immediately” when being asked about it. “My experience of moving through the world is as an autistic person,” they shared. “There’s no reason for people not to know.”

See more from Ramsey’s profile, here.