The Last of Us star Bella Ramsey has voiced support for awards shows keeping separate categories for male and female performers.

The British star, who identifies as non-binary and asks to be referred to with they/them pronouns, said it was important that “recognition for women in the industry is preserved”.

“But then, where do non-binary or gender non-conforming people fit into that? I don’t know,” Ramsey added.

Ramsey has been nominated for best actress at the Baftas and Emmys. Other ceremonies such the MTV and Brit Awards have switched to all-encompassing gender-neutral prizes as the entertainment industry grapples with how non-binary actors should be treated by awards shows.

Organisers of the Oscars said last year they were “exploring” the idea of merging the best actor and actress categories.

Ramsey told Louis Theroux’s podcast: “If people call me an actress, I have a guttural ‘ugh, that’s not quite right’ instinct to it.

“But I just don’t take it too seriously. It doesn’t feel like an attack on my identity. It’s just a funny thing that doesn’t really fit.”

Ramsey said they “didn’t find it insulting” to be nominated for best actress at the Emmys.

Theroux suggested that having a single category would mean “basically a lot of women wouldn’t get nominated” – as happened when the Brits scrapped their best male and female categories in favour of a best artist award, and no women were nominated in 2023.

Ramsey responded: “I think it’s so important that that’s preserved – that the recognition for women in this industry is preserved.

“I think the gendered categories conversation’s a really interesting one and I don’t have the answer. I wish that there was something that was an easy way around it.

“I think that it is really important that we have a female category and a male category – but then, where do non-binary and gender con-conforming people fit into that? I don’t know.

“I’ve literally sat and tried to think my way to the answer, and haven’t got there.

“You could do it for the character portrayed – like, best performance in a female character. But then, what about when there are non-binary characters on screen? Which is few and far between at the moment. But where does a non-binary person playing a non-binary character fit in? I don’t know. It’s really complicated.”

There has also been a move towards referring to all performers as actors rather than using the term actress, but Ramsey said many people prefer to be called an actress “and are really comfortable in that”.

“I’ve always just called myself an actor, but I don’t think that those words [like actress] have to be taken away.”

The 21-year-old said they didn’t think about the use of pronouns until The Last of Us started in 2023, “and it was a question that I had and suddenly I had to choose”.

“I was so stressed out about it because I didn’t know, and I didn’t really care.”

Ramsey said they rejected the term non-binary “for so long” because they didn’t want to be seen as being “trendy”.

“It was just something that had been very obvious since I was young. I’d always call myself a tomboy, but it wasn’t that I was like a boyish girl. I was always a bit of an inbetween, leaning more to the boy’s side to be honest.

“I feel like I grew up more as a little boy than I did a little girl. I always felt more masculine or… yeah, more on that side of the spectrum, I guess.”

The question of how to categorise awards has been a long-running debate in the entertainment industry.

Currently, most awards shows invite actors to submit themselves for the category they feel comfortable in.

In 2022, The Crown’s Emma Corrin, who identifies as non-binary, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I don’t think the categories are inclusive enough at the moment. It’s about everyone being able to feel acknowledged and represented.”

In 2023, Yellowjackets star Liv Hewson, also non-binary, didn’t enter the Emmys, saying: “There’s not a place for me in the acting categories. It would be inaccurate for me to submit myself as an actress. It neither makes sense for me to be lumped in with the boys.”

Others worry that gender-neutral categories would lead to women being underrepresented. After having all-male nominees for best artist in 2023, the Brits expanded the prize’s shortlist from five to 10 acts.

Trans actors are not affected by the issue, with Elliot Page being eligible for best actor and Karla Sofía Gascón for best actress.