In some candid conversations with Zing Tsjeng, Bella Ramsey, of The Last of Us fame, discusses her autism diagnosis for the first time. Ramsey is clearly at ease with Tsjeng and comfortable opening up to her, resulting in a profile that is an inspiring look at self-acceptance.
They’re still figuring out how they feel about coming out so young. “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 explain. “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.” They compare this with 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. I feel trapped.” At a Letters Live show last year, where actors stage readings of literary correspondence, they read a letter to themselves: “You don’t have to know. You can just be, and be proud.”
“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 say slowly. “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 recognises me on the street, say if I’m presenting differently, [and] takes a photo, then that is just talked about.”
In contrast, their reason for talking about their autism, Ramsey says, is a combination of ease and self-confidence – they’re able to “unmask immediately” if they tell someone about their condition. And yes, they do seem more relaxed now they’ve said it, compared to the dryly funny but slightly shy person who picked me up at the train station. “My experience of moving through the world is as an autistic person,” they say. “There’s no reason for people not to know.”
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