The classic 1980s song that links Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey
Bella Ramsey and Pedro Pascal have formed one of the most beloved on-screen duos in recent years with their portrayals of Joel and Ellie in the TV show adaptation of the universally-celebrated video game The Last of Us. Joel and Ellie in the game already had excellent chemistry, so Ramsey and Pascal performed admirably in recreating the relationship.
Pascal is no stranger to television, having played the roles of Oberyn Martell in the fourth season of Game of Thrones and Javier Pena in Netflix’s Narcos. Ramsey had also performed in HBO’s TV adaptation of George R. R. Martin’s fantasy novels as Lyanna Mormont, as well as providing the voice for the title character in Netflix’s animated series Hilda.
Ahead of the Last of Us series’ release, Norwegian journalist Benjamin Brekken wanted to discuss one of his country’s biggest pop exports, A-ha, their famous tune ‘Take On Me’ and how it links to both Ramsey and Pascal. “It’s in the game; it’s in the trailer; maybe we will see Ellie play it on the guitar through the series, who knows?” he said.
Brekken then asked the pair how they felt about the song and why it might be well matched to The Last of Us‘ fictional universe. Ramsey admitted to “loving the song” and how it’s “integrated into the trailer”. Pascal also noted his love for the tune, but he had a particular fondness for being able to “introduce [Ramsey] to the original video”.
“I saw [it] when I was a kid on MTV in the US, and I remember it like it was yesterday seeing that video for the first time,” Pascal said, explaining: “it was really exciting; it was like, ‘Bella, do you know the video reference of this song?’ And so it was exciting to see her see that for the first time. It holds up”.
‘Take On Me’ arrived in October 1984 as an original version. However, the famous international hit version came the year after, when Alan Tarney produced it as part of A-ha’s debut studio album Hunting High and Low. It was that second version that also had the accompanying iconic music video, directed by Steve Barron, who had the band drawn in a live-action sketch animation.
The song was used in the video game The Last of Us Part 2 when Ellie finds a guitar in Seattle and game players play through the chords to ‘Take On Me’ while Ellie sings along with the lyrics. When the trailer for the TV show adaptation arrived, the show’s directors also used the song to significant effect. Fortunately, both Bella Ramsey and Pedro Pascal love the music.
