Amanda Ruby Lybbert reflected on her appearance on the HBO series The Last of Us, March 14, 2023. (Photo: @noahasanias on Instagram)

By David Opinko

Lethbridge actor reflects on appearance in The Last of Us

Mar 14, 2023 | 12:52 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – A woman from Lethbridge says it was amazing to know that her first professional acting job was on one of the biggest shows on television today.

Amanda Ruby Lybbert made a brief appearance in episode seven of HBO’s hit streaming show, The Last of Us, which was filmed in Alberta.

Lybbert plays the character Bethany in the show, and directly interacts with series lead Bella Ramsey and her character Ellie Williams.

She had high praise for Ramsey, describing her with words like amazing, sweet, encouraging, and fun to work with.

“I would ask her, how was that? After every take, she would be like, ‘You smashed it. You did so good.’ That made me feel better because I was obviously nervous, my first ever time on set.”

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Lybbert said it was also “really impressive” to see how organized the Hollywood crew was and how well she was treated on set. She recounted how the staff was always ready to take care of any of her needs and would accommodate her requests without hesitation.

“It’s crazy to me that this is my first role because it’s just so massive,” said Lybbert. “Compared to like, a lot of my acting friends and people I know, they don’t really get their start in something like this.”

Her scene in The Last of Us was filmed in Calgary in January 2022, so she said it was difficult to keep it a secret for a full year.

“It was funny because I would, like, kind of allude to it, that’s all I could do,” Lybbert said. “Somebody would ask me how my acting career was going and I was like, ‘Oh, I was part of a show with HBO,’ and they’re like, oh really, what is it? I’m like, ‘I can’t say.'”

Acting is something that Lybbert said she has wanted to do since childhood.

“Ever since I was a kid, I loved movies and always wanted to be part of them,” said Lybbert. “It was so fun seeing myself on screen with actors that I knew from movies from, like, my childhood.”

Lybbert was born and raised in Lethbridge and said she took part in as many opportunities to get on stage as she could.

After graduating from Chinook High School, she moved out west to attend the Vancouver Film School.

Lybbert was not able to say if she is currently working on any other acting projects, but she hopes that her time on The Last of Us will lead to other opportunities and help to nurture her young career.

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