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Though Pedro Pascal has always been a fan-favorite casting choice for Joel, Bella Ramsey wasn't always the first choice to play Ellie in HBO's adaptation of The Last of Us.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the studio saw "dozens and dozens" for the role of Ellie in the initial attempts to adapt The Last of Us. They needed someone "tough and vulnerable and wise beyond [their] years and also have a potential for violence," creator Neil Druckmann said. Game of Thrones star Maisie Williams, who played Arya Stark for all eight seasons, reportedly met with Druckmann when the video game adaptation was first imagined as a movie. Kaitlyn Dever, star of Booksmart, and Rosaline, also did a table read.
Other popular fan castings included Sophia Lillis (Stephen King's IT), Elsie K. Fisher (Eighth Grade), Cailee Spaeny (The Craft: Legacy), and even Kiernan Shipka (The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina).
By the time HBO had greenlit the project, any actor who was formerly considered had "aged out of the role" (Dever is now 26 and Williams is 25) and a new search was set. Ramsey, 19, had previously starred in Game of Thrones, His Dark Materials, and most recently Lena Dunham's Catherine Called Birdy.
"It was like Ellie realized in live action. It didn’t feel like watching an actor," Druckmann said upon viewing Ramsey's self-tape.
