Bella Ramsey’s appearance as Lyanna Mormont in Game of Thrones was one of the stand-out additions to the cast of the fantasy series. Having gone on to appear in the BBC/HBO adaptation of His Dark Materials and other shows, her newest role in The Last of Us is one of her biggest but most challenging roles to date. With a huge fan base, The Last of Us brings with it certain expectations of those familiar with the video game, which led to an initial backlash against Ramsey’s casting as Ellie that had the actress doubting she was up to the challenge. Speaking to The New York Times, Ramsey, who was 17 when casting was completed, revealed that those doubts have still not entirely gone away. She said:

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The Last of Us creator Neil Druckmann had no issues casting Ramsey in the role of Ellie, as when he saw her audition tape, Ellie was all he could see. He said:

“It’s the first time I’ve ever had a negative reaction to something. There would be times I’d find it funny. Then I’d get to the end of a 10-minute scrolling session, put my phone down and realize: Maybe that was a bad idea. It’s only recently that I’ve accepted I am Ellie, and I can do it, and I am a good actor, but this will last for a few weeks and then I’ll think I’m terrible again. That’s just the process.”

“We were looking for a specific combination of contradictions: Someone that can be funny and quirky, and violent and rough. I didn’t see Bella acting like Ellie — I saw Ellie.”

The Last of Us Is Already Hailed as the Best Video Game Adaptation of All Time

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Adapting video games has always been a tightrope, and in most cases, the balance has not been maintained to please both fans and newcomers to the franchise. The Last of Us is yet to see any audience reviews arrive, but having debuted with a perfect Rotten Tomatoes score from critics, it has continued to hold a 97% as more reviews have come in.

One of the show’s greatest attributes seems to be its loyalty to the story of the game. While there is always a desire for many adaptations to make numerous changes to the source material, which over time has seen multiple Resident Evil movie attempts be panned, The Last of Us has simply taken an already well-developed storyline and only made some slight alterations to it.

How audiences will rate the show when The Last of Us arrives on HBO and HBO Max on Jan. 15 is yet to be seen, but the initial buzz around the series’ premiere could not be more positive. While a second season seems to be certain at this point, the other bold choice of Druckmann has been to make it clear that there will not be a never-ending number of seasons, and the series will tell the games’ stories as they are. As a template for future video game adaptations, it could be one worth keeping in mind for others to follow.