The upcoming premiere of the HBO series The Last of Us is one of the most anticipated on television, and with it now right around the corner, the show’s biggest stars, Pedro Pascal (as Joel) and Bella Ramsey (as Ellie), are making their rounds in the press and on talk shows. The actress recently appeared on The Late Late Show With James Corden; among the many questions asked, lead actress Bella Ramsey (Game of Thrones) revealed how she best prepared her American accent for her character by, comically of all things, swearing.

The young British starlet discussed her role in the upcoming post-apocalyptic series The Last of Us, a live-action adaptation of the original award-winning videogames of the same name. While her supporting role as Lyanna Mormont in Game of Thrones may not have needed as much research and preparation, in her role as the co-main character Ellie, Ramsey had a lot to do for the part, from watching footage of the games (which the director originally didn’t want her to do) to the usual physical training for action sequences, and a dialect coach to help fine-tune her American accent. She mused on how certain words like “olive oil” gave her difficulty, but when it came to a laundry list of swears, she joked how that helped her most.

“The character that I play in this show, The Last of Us, Ellie, curses every two seconds. So that was definitely important. There are so many [curse words],”

The Mounting Pressure on Bella Ramsey to Perfectly Play One of the Most Beloved Characters in Gaming History

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When it comes to a story like The Last of Us, the amount of attention and subsequent scrutiny for the live-action adaptation has been nothing shy of gargantuan. As far as any videogame adaptation, this one by HBO is likely to be the most talked about on television, even more so than co-director Mazin’s other major project, Borderlands.

As such, the sheer amount of pressure on young actress Bella Ramsey has been staggering to the point that she refuses to look at social media postings about the show, as she’s already aware of the negativity regarding her casting. It’s been nothing short of a rollercoaster for her as she went from one of the most beloved minor characters in Game of Thrones to an impossibly major character that she plays with a microscope over her head. In addition, she’s expressed her anxiety over living up to fans’ expectations. Still, with unconditional support from her co-star Pedro Pascal and directors Mazin and Druckmann, she’ll realize her performance’s impact in all the best ways.

The first season of The Last of Us premieres this Sunday, Jan. 15, on HBO and most of the network’s sub-channels at 9 PM EST / 6 PM CST.