The Last of Us actor was encouraged to avoid the game while preparing for her role in HBO series

The Last of Us actor Bella Ramsey has said she was encouraged not to play the video game while preparing for her role in its upcoming HBO adaptation.

The Last of Us series will follow the same story as the 2013 Sony PlayStation game, in which world-weary smuggler Joel (to be played by Pedro Pascal) is tasked with protecting teenager Ellie as they travel across a post-apocalyptic America following a zombie-like outbreak. The first trailer for the hugely anticipated drama was released last month, with the series set to air some time in 2023.

Speaking to USA Today, 19-year-old Bella – who appeared as Lyanna Mormont in Game of Thrones – revealed she was told to steer clear of the game before landing her role in the series. When asked if she had played the game, she said: “I was actually encouraged not to.

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“After my first audition, they asked me, ‘Have you played it?’ And I said ‘Nope’, and they said, ‘Keep it that way’! I did watch some of the gameplay on YouTube just to get a sense of it.”

She added: “I’m so excited for it to come out – it was such a big part of my life. I shot for a whole year, which is quite a long time when you’ve only lived for 19 years.”

She went on to reveal co-star Pedro sent her a “sweet” card after filming had wrapped, which read: “How interesting that something so huge and life-changing should happen so early in your life and so late in mine.”

Bella also suggested she would not fare as well as her character should she need to survive in a post-apocalyptic, zombie-infested world, adding: “I have zero survival strategies. I would probably just dig myself a hole, crawl into it with my best friend and cry.”