Game of Thrones season 7: Who is Bella Ramsey? Meet the teen star who plays Lyanna Mormont
GAME OF THRONES season 7 will see Lyanna Mormont return to help Jon Snow battle the White Walkers. But who is the actress who plays the pint-sized firebrand, Bella Ramsey?
Lyanna Mormont declares Jon Snow is King in the North
Lyanna Mormont was the break-out star of Game of Thrones season 6 despite appearing in only two scenes.
After meeting with Jon in episode seven, The Broken Man, the 10-year-old Lady of Bear Island travelled to Winterfell in the season finale, The Winds of Winter.
There, she whipped her adult contemporaries into line after Jon’s attempts to mobilise the North against the White Walkers fell on deaf ears, issuing a series of ruthless put-downs.
"Your son was butchered at the Red Wedding, Lord Manderly, but you refused the call," she reminded one indifferent patriarch.
"You swore allegiance to House Stark, Lord Glover, but in their hour of greatest need, you refused the call,” she told another.
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"And you, Lord Cerwyn, your father was skinned alive by Ramsay Bolton. Still you refused the call. But House Mormont remembers. The North remembers. We know no king but the King in the North whose name is Stark.”
Fans were instantly won over by Bella’s ice-cold performance.
The teenager, who was born in 2003, has called the fan reaction to her character “really crazy”.
“I didn't expect anything like it,” she said.
“I am very, very happy that people like Lyanna Mormont. We had to keep it quiet that I had a part in Game of Thrones so now it's out, my family have had lots of people they know contacting them, really excited they have seen me.”
Liam Cunningham, who plays Davos Seaworth, said that the young actress was “professional and just brilliant” from the moment she walked on set.
"There's an old adage about how actors should never work with children or animals, but that's B.S,” he told The Hollywood Reporter.
“When kids are as good as this young lady is, it's a joy to play opposite.”
Mark Mylod, who directed Bella in her very first scene, said that the teenager’s talent and work ethic embarrassed her adult co-stars.
Trailer: Game Of Thrones returns for season 7
"She walked in for the casting reading, and we were knocked completely sideways. It was one of those moments where you go, 'Oh my God, what a star’,” he told THR.
“We ended up rehearsing for only a half hour because she was so on it. And of course, the rest of us felt deeply ashamed, because she knew every single word and every single inflection.”
Mark gushed: “The level of talent there is so ridiculous. She's someone we're going to look back on in 20 years, and she's going to be ruling Hollywood. She's just amazing."
Bella was just 12 years old when her first appearance on the show aired, but was allowed to watch “a few suitable snippets”.
“I was interested to see the bit in season five when Stannis Baratheon received Lyanna's letter,” she said.
On her first impression of the character, she added: “I thought, ‘This is a character to really get my teeth into.’
“Lyanna is strong about what she believes, and wants to keep her family and island protected; she wants to be treated like an adult. She's strong, and firm when she needs to be, and wants the best for her house and the North.”
Bella started acting at just four years old, and starred in a number of amateur productions while training at a local stage school.
At age 10, she won a place at the Television Workshop, which trains young actors for the stage and screen.
Incredibly, her first professional role was in Game of Thrones.
Since then she has taken on the lead part in the 2017 remake of The Worst Witch, which has been confirmed for a second season, and has recorded vocals for the upcoming Netflix animation Hilda.
Next year Bella will appear in Holmes and Watson, a comedic take on Sherlock starring Will Ferrel and John C Reilly as the detective and his assistant.
Game of Thrones returns to HBO on July 16 and will be simulcast in the UK at 2am on Sky Atlantic. Catch up on season one to six on NOW TV.
