I wish I had been a more rebellious teenager, says actress Bella Ramsey

LONDON – Bella Ramsey spent many teenage years working with adults so never really went through the moody, rebellious phase often associated with being a teenager. The British actress, who debuted in Game of Thrones aged 11 and uses they/them pronouns, says they had consciously decided not to behave like a stereotypical teenager after hearing criticisms from adults. “I was like, I’m not going to be that.” So when Sunny Dancer, a film about a summer camp for young people affected by cancer, gave Ramsey seven weeks to experience teenage freedom, it was an opportunity to dive straight in. “I got to be a teenager aged 21, which was brilliant,” Ramsey tells BBC News. “It was really nice – and liberating.” Looking back, Ramsey says the experience made them wonder whether they had missed out by being quite so sensible the first time around.“I kind of wish that I had made the most of being a teenager and getting away with things and being a bit rebellious.” In Sunny Dancer, Ramsey plays Ivy, a young female cancer survivor in remission who reluctantly heads to a “chemo camp” where she finds an unexpected group of friends and has a summer that changes her.



