Warning: spoilers ahead for season 2 of His Dark Materials.
In season 2 of His Dark Materials, the television adaptation of Philip Pullman’s fantasy book trilogy of the same name, we’re introduced to Angelica, a new character played by Game of Thrones star Bella Ramsey.
When Bella first appeared in the new season, viewers who remembered her as the precocious Lady Lyanna Mormont in Game of Thrones were hugely excited to see her pop up on their screens, a reaction that the 17-year-old actor says she didn’t expect in the slightest.
‘I wasn’t expecting it at all,’ she told Metro.co.uk during a recent chat over Zoom.
‘I think it’s really lovely that people are still following what I’m doing and remembering me from Game of Thrones, but also seeing me as this new character Angelica.’
While she has been transported from the North of Westeros in Game of Thrones to the mysterious city of Cittàgazze in His Dark Materials, the character of Angelica bears some strong similarities to Lyanna, Bella explained, namely her strength as a leader and her innate hardiness.
‘She’s this powerhouse really,’ the actor said. ‘She has to step in as a kind of mother figure for the kids in Cittàgazze because all the adults have fled because of these crazy things called Spectres. So she’s taken on that responsibility as leader of the pack.’
Bella added that while Angelica is a ‘feisty’ role to play – standing her ground as she comes face to face with the spirited Lyra Silvertongue (Dafne Keen) and plucky Will Parry (Amir Wilson) – there is a ‘vulnerable’ side to her, which we may come to see as the season progresses.
‘She’s very feisty and doesn’t trust anything or anyone,’ Bella said. ‘But we’re starting to see that she is a bit vulnerable under that exterior.’
Being on set with lots of children is a vastly different experience to being surrounded by adults, Bella explained, some of the most significant differences being the presence of chaperones and the requirement to follow certain working hours.
However, she personally found that she and her young co-stars shared a ‘similar maturity level’, which enabled them to engage in deep conversations on set.
‘Dafne, Amir and Ella [Schrey-Yeats], who plays Paola in the show, we were able to have really good conversations, mature conversations, just about life. The same kind of conversations that I could have with adults on Game of Thrones,’ she recollected.
‘There’s a similar maturity level, I guess because they’re also young professionals – you have to have that level of maturity and professionalism. So it was nice that we could connect with that.’
Despite appearing in several high-octane TV shows, having also played the lead for the first three seasons of The Worst Witch, Bella hopes to take on more stunt-heavy productions in future.
‘The last episode that I was in of Game of Thrones in season 8, that was quite action-packed, but I think an action film would be really cool [to do],’ she said excitedly.
‘One where I have to do lots of martial arts or running or jumping. All of the stunts and cool stuff like that.’
Just like many of her peers in the world of entertainment, the coronavirus pandemic placed several of Bella’s projects on hold. She had been due to film a period-set TV series and film this year, the latter of which is now due to start filming in early 2021.
But acting isn’t Bella’s only area of interest. She’s also a budding writer, having penned a film of her own which she hopes is ‘going to happen at some point’.
As for the films and TV shows she already has under her belt, Bella disclosed that she’s often given a particular kind of souvenir when a shoot wraps, as she’s not usually able to keep any props from set as mementos.
‘On most projects, they really like to give you a water bottle,’ she revealed.
‘I’ve got so many water bottles with lots of different film names and series names on them, but that’s about it,’ Bella said with a smile.
Who’d have thought a water bottle collection could make us so jealous.
His Dark Materials airs on Sunday evenings at 8.10pm on BBC One.
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