'Game of Thrones': Bella Ramsey Reacts to Fan Love for Lyanna Mormont
Three scenes. That's all it took for Bella Ramsey to win the "Game of Thrones."
The 12-year-old actress plays Lyanna Mormont, niece of former Lord Commander Jeor Mormont and cousin of the now dying-of-greyscale Jorah Mormont. She is the Lady of Bear Island, and we first met her as she stared down Jon Snow (Kit Harington), Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner), and Davos (Liam Cunningham) in Season 6's "The Broken Man."
Lyanna Mormont won over the Internet after that scene, and continued to win fans (and memes) with her resting angry face reaction in the "Battle of the Bastards."
And she brought the house down with her finale speech shaming (shame! shame! shame!) the Northmen, pushing them to declare Jon Snow the new King in the North:
Lyanna Mormont for president. Prime minister. Queen of the Seven Kingdoms. Everything!
Sometimes when I am faced with difficult decisions, I ask myself... "What would Lyanna Mormont do?" pic.twitter.com/Ot322zsltQ
— Ellohime (@EllohimeTwitch) June 30, 2016
Obviously, this has all had a big impact on young Bella Ramsey. She talked to HBO after the finale, and reacted to the outpouring of love from fans:
It's crazy really. I didn't expect anything like it. I am very, very happy that people like Lyanna Mormont. We had to keep it quiet that I had a part in GoT so now it's out, my family have had lots of people they know contacting them, really excited they have seen me.
Well, we hope to see a lot more of her in Season 7 ... whenever they start filming the dang thing.
Here's a bit more from her Q&A:
HBO: What did you first think of Lyanna when you read the script?
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.
HBO: Had you seen the show before filming your scenes?
When I knew I got the part, I was allowed to watch a few suitable snippets. I was interested to see the bit in Season 5 when Stannis [Baratheon] received Lyanna's letter.
HBO: Did you realize how important your character was going to be?
It took me a while to realize it. I actually woke up one morning and the first thing I thought was, "Wow, I really am integral to the storyline."
Bryan Cogman, who wrote "The Broken Man," talked to Entertainment Weekly about working with the young star in that episode. "The Lyanna scene was a lot of fun," he said. "Bella is a terrific young actress – the whole cast and crew were very impressed. I think, much like the character does with Jon, Sansa, and Davos, Bella kept Kit, Sophie, and Liam on their toes!"
Seriously, they need to promote her for the Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Emmy. She earned it.
Amazingly enough, Bella doesn't have any previous credits on her IMDb filmography, but she's set to play Mildred Hubble in "Worst Witch" in 2017. And if Lyanna Mormont doesn't have a major role in GoT Season 7 or Season 8, she should get her own spinoff series.
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