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Fans of The Last of Us call out HBO for its poor casting choices. Bella Ramsey has faced a lot of criticism for her portrayal of Ellie over the past few years, especially after the release of the latest episode.
Viewers compared Bella Ramsey’s performance to the original game character—some liked her fresh, realistic take, while others felt it lacked the same emotional impact.
In the Inside the Episode series posted on April 28, 2025, director Peter Hoar praised Ramsey’s acting, saying she could make even a phone book sound interesting. But some fans on Reddit disagreed, accusing HBO of defending what they called her "horrible acting" in The Last of Us.
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"HBO (is) just making stuff up now to defend the horrible acting lmao"
To which another user replied:
"What he’s doing is exhibiting signs of “sunken cost fallacy”; when a person is reluctant to say a (person/place/thing) sucked because they already spent time/money on it."
Accusing HBO of justifying their casting for Ellie, despite major backlash from their audience.
Many viewers had different takes on Ramsey's acting in one of The Last of Us' most pivotal scenes in episode 2.
Another fan replied to the creator's statement, saying:
"It’s really odd how all the creators keep saying stuff like this. It’s very forced like they’re trying to convince themselves."
However, some fans on X had a different opinion on Ramsey being cast as Ellie and believed the criticism she is facing is unnecessary.
"They can never make me hate Bella Ramsey. Everyone who has been uncritically parroting that they should have been recast should feel very bad. Leaving behind public life should not (be) required for actors like Ramsey to be in these "nerd-adjacent" franchises.
"I feel so bad for Bella Ramsey.. I've never (seen) such blatant bullying and hatred towards an actor who's done absolutely nothing wrong," a fan stated.
"Bella ramsey is INCREDIBLE at acting and the people hating a young actor going into adulthood after being a child star all because they’re not conventionally attractive and sexy for them are weird as f*ck"
Bella Ramsey on The Last of Us season 2
The Last of Us season 2 premiered on April 13, 2025, on HBO Max. In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter published on April 22, 2025, Ramsey opened up about her experience filming season 2 of the show.
In part two of the game, Ellie is quite physically transformed, which required Ramsey to undergo intensive physical training such as boxing, jiu-jitsu, and weight training. During the filming process, she alternated between shooting scenes and stunt training.
"It was cool to feel really … capable. But I got quite fixated on the way that Ellie looks in the game and her physical stature and, to be specific, the muscle definition in her arms. And I didn’t look like that. My body type isn’t that," she said.
She discussed the transformation with producer Craig Mazin and stated that he never put any expectations on her.
"He wanted me to look strong and feel strong, and that was in how I carried myself, my posture, and the confidence you have. It was a challenge for me to let myself off the hook for not looking computer-generated," she explained.
The Last of Us season 2 is streaming on HBO Max.
