As with many modern science fiction series, Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey had to imagine what their on-screen foes actually looked like. The computer-generated Clickers weren't actually present in any of those scenes, and while stand-ins can at least tell the actors where to look, it can't really instill the same terror as The Last Of Us did in-game. For that, Pascal and Ramsey had to see Clickers from the game and how HBO planned to make them look for the upcoming TV series. In a new interview with IGN, Bella Ramsey revealed a curious reaction to seeing a Clicker for the first time: she thought they were actually kind of pretty."You were very grossed out by them," Ramsey said of co-star Pascal's first-time reaction to seeing a Clicker. "I found them sort of beautiful. That's what was scary actually. I think the beauty that they had, that was what was terrifying. The whole fungus, [the] Cordyceps infection is based on science. Theoretically, it's possible, and that's what's also terrifying."
Pascal had a more typical reaction to the Clickers, calling them "a monstrous, floral nightmare." Which is exactly what they’re supposed to be, with their strange fungal growths and total lack of eyes. Ramsey seems to have a more eclectic aesthetic sense.
Maybe that's what made her perfect for the role of Ellie. Showrunner Craig Mazin told The Hollywood Reporter that Ramsey was the first audition Mazin had for Ellie, and even 99 more didn't change his mind. "Bella felt so real," he said. "It was like Ellie realized in live action. It didn’t feel like watching an actor."
The Last Of Us arrives on HBO Max January 15.