Bella Ramsey has labelled her The Last of Us partner Pedro Pascal a “real champion” of the queer community for this reason, and we couldn’t agree more.

The Last of Us, a brutal, post-apocalyptic tale about the cycle of violence set against a raqe-inducing-fungus-ravaged United States, may not seem like the perfect backdrop for the unlikely friendship between Bella Ramsey and Pedro Pascal – but it is.

The pair, who have starred in the first two seasons of the HBO show (which is based on the Naughty Dog video games of the same name), have been inseparable off camera, and Ramsey has explained that it’s not just a performative relationship.

In a profile for Them, Ramsey, who identifies as non-binary, said that when they went to the Midwest of the United States for, they “had anxiety about being an openly queer person in states that are quite conservative” – but that Pascal was there for them.

“He is someone I talk to about stuff like that,” Ramsey said. “He has been so kind and generous and supportive. He’s a real champion of the LGBTQ+ community.”

Continuing, Ramsey was quick to affirm in the feature just how much Pascal puts his money where his mouth is when it comes to LGBTQ+ issues: “Performative allyship is a thing, and he is so the opposite of that.

“At his core, [advocacy] is something that he cares so much about and has been so supportive of me in a way that I’m incredibly grateful for.”

In e-mailed comments for the piece, Pascal added that he’s an ally, “Because it’s morally corrupt to persecute anyone for being their authentic selves, to make anyone feel less than for having the courage to live a truthful life.”

Anyone with even the faintest inkling of the zeitgeist will know that Ramsey’s comments are bang on; Pascal is, and has been, a staunch LGBTQ+ ally, recently wearing a ‘Protect the Dolls’ t-shirt at his 50th birthday (where Honey Dijon DJed), then to Marvel’s Thunderbolts* premiere and consistently standing up for his trans sister Lux.

He also gave Alexander Skarsgård a cheeky kiss at Cannes Film Festival – not that we’re jealous – and called J.K. Rowling out for “heinous loser behaviour” after the UK Supreme Court‘s trans-exclusionary definition of a woman.

The Last of Us‘s second season wrapped up this week, with a slew of trauma for Ellie (Ramsey’s character) after Pascal’s Joel Miller met his untimely end in the second episode of the instalment – but never fear, because season three is on the way.

The Last of Us is available to stream on Max.