Bella Ramsay was told not to play 'The Last of Us' before joining the TV adaptation.

The 19-year-old actress - who plays Ellie in the upcoming HBO series based on the beloved video game - admitted during her audition that she hadn't played any of Naughty Dog's franchise, and she was "encouraged" to "keep it that way".

She told USA Today: "I was actually encouraged not to. 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."

Bella can't wait for the show - which is set to launch in 2023 - to be out in the wide world after spending so much time working on set.

She said: "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 stars with Pedro Pascal (Joel) in the show, and she revealed a "sweet" note he wrote for her reflecting on the different stages they are at in their respective careers.

She added: "Pedro wrote a little card to me at the end, saying, 'How interesting that something so huge and life-changing should happen so early in your life and so late in mine'.

"I thought it was a really sweet observation and I just had the best time."