Bella Ramsey wants nonbinary actors to be celebrated in Hollywood — just like every other actor.
Looking back at award season, The Last of Us star, who is nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns, admits fitting into either lead-acting race was “uncomfortable.”
“The categories at the moment feel extremely gendered with the language around them,” Bella recently shared with Vanity Fair.
While they considered completely withdrawing from the Emmys race and discussed other alternatives, Bella ultimately decided to contend in female categories — even though they don’t identify that way.
“I don’t want the limitations in terms of the language in the categories to be a reason that nonbinary actors like me can’t be celebrated,” Bella said.
They continued, “And it can open up a conversation about how it feels — as long as I’m aware of the fact that it’s not ideal, but also that finding alternatives is really complex.”
Going forward, Bella says they hope award show decision-makers will include nonbinary voices in discussions about gendered categories.
“For [nonbinary and nonconforming people] to have a say and be part of those discussions and those conversations, that’s really important,” Bella said.
They added, “I just hope there’s more space for nonbinary people to be recognized within [future] categories.”
You can read all that Bella and other nonbinary actors had to say here.
