Bella Ramsey on cancer camp film Sunny Dancer: 'I got to be a teenager aged 21'

Bella Ramsey spent many teenage years working with adults and never really went through the typical moody, rebellious phase — but a new film gave them a second chance at it all. The British actor, who uses they/them pronouns and debuted in Game of Thrones aged 11, says they had consciously decided not to behave like a stereotypical teenager after hearing criticisms from adults. But Sunny Dancer, a film about a summer camp for young people affected by cancer, gave Ramsey seven weeks to experience that teenage freedom at the age of 21. "I got to be a teenager aged 21, which was brilliant," Ramsey tells BBC News. "It was really nice — and liberating." In the film, 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. The cast also includes Neil Patrick Harris, Jessica Gunning and James Norton. Looking back, Ramsey says the experience made them wonder whether they had missed out. "I kind of wish that I had made the most of being a teenager and getting away with things and being a bit rebellious."