His Dark Materials season 2 star Bella Ramsey has revealed the important piece of advice she received from Game of Thrones actors Kit Harington and Liam Cunningham, saying that she ‘learnt a lot’ from her co-stars on the epic fantasy show.
In 2016, Bella was introduced in the sixth series of Game of Thrones as the young yet imposing Lady Lyanna Mormont, her character becoming a fan favourite almost immediately thanks to her piercing glare and powerful demeanour.
Four years on, Bella, 17, has entered yet another extraordinary world on TV, joining the cast of His Dark Materials as Angelica, a girl living in the mysterious city of Cittàgazze who crosses paths with Lyra (Dafne Keen) and Will (Amir Wilson) in the second season.
During a recent conversation with Metro.co.uk over Zoom, Bella explained that while we meet Lyanna and Angelica in very different environments – Lyanna, a 10-year-old girl surrounded by adults, and Angelica, a young girl surrounded by other children – similarities can be drawn between the two characters as they’re both quite ‘grown-up’, despite their youth.
Being on Game of Thrones, Bella’s first experience of professional acting, taught her ‘what being an actor was’, she said, as she was ‘immediately thrown into the deep end’.
The actor’s co-stars Kit and Liam, who played Jon Snow and Davos Seaworth respectively, helped prepare Bella for the interview circuit, undoubtedly well-aware of the attention she would receive after appearing on the world-famous show.
‘I learnt a lot from Kit Harington and Liam Cunningham, who played Davos,’ Bella told us as she looked back on her experience.
‘I learnt a lot from them about interviews and about how to go about them and to just be yourself.
‘They were obviously aware that I was going to have to be doing some, so they helped me by preparing me for it.’
From the sounds of it, Bella’s casting as Lyanna on Game of Thrones was a whirlwind experience.
After auditioning for the show in Manchester, having missed out on roles for other shows that she ‘wasn’t quite right for’, Bella soon learned that she was the favourite for the part, she recollected.
‘Suddenly, I was thrown into this world of film and TV that I’d never even imagined that I’d be in,’ she admitted.
‘It’s not like I didn’t want to. It’s just that I hadn’t even thought of it. I was always acting at home, but I’d never even kind of considered it as a career. I was very, very fortunate.’
Bella said that she ‘wasn’t aware’ of the other actors who were up for the role of Lyanna, although she always tries to make an effort to say hello to peers that she does see during auditions.
‘You just try and say hello to everybody else that’s there, just so you’ve cleared the air and there’s not the horrible competition tension. I don’t like that at all,’ she said. ‘I just try and make sure I’m nice to everybody.’
When the first few episodes of Game of Thrones featuring Bella were released, she was filming the TV series The Worst Witch.
In retrospect, Bella said it was ‘good’ she was in the middle of production at the time, because she was ‘distracted’ and not fully ‘aware’ of the attention she was receiving.
The actor noted that she doesn’t think of herself as ‘being known or being [air quote] ‘famous’’, describing the experience of gaining fame following her performance on Game of Thrones as ‘crazy and a bit overwhelming’.
‘I still remember the first time I was recognised,’ she told us. ‘I found it quite cool, the fact that I could make someone’s day literally just by being myself.’
Bella explained that she was first recognised while waiting in the queue for the toilet at St Pancras station, when a woman came up to her and excitedly said, ‘You’re from the telly!’
After asking the woman if they could speak after she had gone to the bathroom, they shared a ‘lovely chat’, Bella recalled, chuckling over how ‘surreal’ the moment was.
While fans of Game of Thrones may enjoy watching the series back and witnessing Bella as Lyanna strike fear in the hearts of men five times her age, she personally doesn’t enjoy watching her scenes on the show.
‘For some reason, watching myself on Game of Thrones jars me. I just don’t enjoy watching my bits at all,’ she said.
Nonetheless, Bella has since found she is able to ‘disassociate’ from her other performances, stating: ‘Although it’s me, it’s kind of not me.’
‘I like to watch the stuff that I’ve done to appreciate everyone else’s work,’ the actor said. ‘I think it’s important for me to get better as an actor, to watch myself and to pick up on things that I did which I liked and the stuff that I didn’t like and want to do better next time.
‘I guess it’s just kind of evaluating your performance, but trying not to be too harsh or too critical, because that’s a trap that you can easily fall into.’
His Dark Materials returns on Sunday at 8.10pm on BBC One.
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