Stranger Things star Millie Bobby Brown reveals she struggled with criticism from her adult contemporaries on the hit Netflix series, being called an "idiot" and "brat" during her early days on the show.
During a sitdown with Glamour UK, Brown admitted it was "hard" to deal with name-calling and critiques from grown-ups when she began her run on Stranger Things, aged 13. The now 19-year-old British actor was chastised for being loud and trying to overshadow her castmates, claims that left her feeling introverted on set and saying little in interviews. "We’re kids—we talk over each other. I was just penalized for overtalking and oversharing and being too loud [and] trying to steal the thunder [of castmates]," Brown said. "It’s hard to hear that at 13. You’re like, ‘I don't want to ever talk again. I don’t want to be the loud person.’"
Brown has starred as Eleven/Jane Hopper, a teen girl with telepathic abilities, since the inception of Stranger Things in 2016, becoming a household name thanks to the sci-fi horror drama. Though she's won countless plaudits for her performances on Stranger Things, including a Screen Actors Guild Award, MTV Movie & TV Award and Saturn Award, Brown struggled with the comments she kept getting while filming the series. "In interviews I couldn’t help but think of all the comments. So I just remembered to stay silent and speak when I was spoken to, even though I was dying to join in. I just felt it wasn’t my turn," she said.
With Stranger Things set to end with Season 5, Brown can't wait to turn the page on the show despite attaining considerable success, saying several times she's ready for the show to end as she wants to focus on other projects. Along with her long-time stint on Stranger Things, Brown is known for her titular role in the Enola Holmes franchise, as well as featuring in the last two Godzilla movies, King of the Monsters and Godzilla vs. Kong. Furthermore, Brown has been filming the upcoming Netflix fantasy flick, Damsel, though the movie has been delayed following the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.
The above-mentioned strikes also halted production on Season 5, with filming originally slated to start this past May or June before being suspended. Brown will reprise her role for Season 5 alongside David Harbour (Jim Hopper), Winona Ryder (Joyce Byers), Finn Wolfhard (Mike Wheeler) and Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas Sinclair). To ramp up anticipation in the meantime, Harbour has been teasing satisfying payoffs for central characters on the show and a "very moving" series finale.
Season 4 of Stranger Things was, for a long time, the highest viewed English-language series ever on Netflix before Wednesday took the throne. Season 5 will feature eight episodes, including at least one directed by executive producer Shawn Levy.
There is now word yet about a concrete release window for Stranger Things Season 5. However, all episodes of Stranger Things to date can be streamed via Netflix.
Source: Glamour UK