00:00So it was this sort of, like, breath of, like, sigh of relief, almost, like, when I stepped back onto
00:05set, I was like,
00:06so that line, like, finally, now we can begin, really rang true for me. I was like, yes, we can.
00:17One last time.
00:32Sure. Hi, I'm Dean from Men of Many. Nice to meet you guys.
00:36Congratulations on the achievement. Super exciting.
00:38I guess just to start with, you know, at the end of season four, we kind of simultaneously see the
00:43disappearance of Max and Vecna for different kind of reasons.
00:48Can you tell me a bit about what it's been like coming back into these characters and how you two
00:51kind of work together to bring about this re-emergence of them back into this season?
00:56For me, personally, it was so nice to step into five because when we finished four, I knew that, you
01:04know, in some iteration, I would be returning.
01:07And so there was sort of just all this retention of the character in the back of the mind consistently
01:13for a few years.
01:14So it was this sort of, like, breath of, like, sigh of relief, almost, like, when I stepped back onto
01:20set, I was like,
01:21so that line, like, finally, now we can begin, really rang true for me.
01:25I was like, yes, we can.
01:27And then obviously, you know, the relationship, I think, between Max and Vecna was something that, you know, obviously we
01:34shot and we worked on and, you know, and it happened.
01:37So stepping forwards again into that space, I think it's all just there.
01:42It just was built.
01:44It was in us.
01:45So it wasn't something that for me felt like, oh, God, like, I've been doing everything else for, you know,
01:51however many years.
01:51And now I've got to come back and do this.
01:53And where's my mind at?
01:54No, my mind was always there.
01:56It was always ticking away in the back of the mind.
01:59I don't know what I can say.
02:02I just kind of, like, hopped into bed and, you know, found my zen.
02:07Sadie got really good at meditation.
02:09I did.
02:10Really good at meditation.
02:20Well, on that, I guess, Sadie, you know, Max kind of came into the show as a bit of an
02:23outsider when she first started, but it's really become quite integral to this final chapter.
02:28Can you tell me a bit about what it's been like kind of bringing that character to life and now
02:31what it's like to say goodbye to her?
02:33I'll never forget reading the audition sides for Max for the first time and just how badly I wanted to
02:41play her and how clearly I saw her in my head.
02:44I'd never really felt like that with the character.
02:46And, yeah, I just I've always really admired her.
02:49And she's kind of been like just this huge figure in my life.
02:53And so to say goodbye to it, it doesn't really feel real.
02:56So I don't know if I'm truly saying goodbye.
02:59Yeah, have a piece of her with me because she is so much of me.
03:04Did filming this season feel different than prior seasons?
03:07You know, it did.
03:08It was like, yeah, I don't like this anymore.
03:12You know, I'm tired of you guys anymore.
03:15I don't like you guys.
03:15It felt different in terms of it being the last one.
03:19The feeling that, oh, wow, this family that I've obtained the past couple of years that I've grown with will
03:26now still be my family,
03:27but it won't be in the same like capacity like it was before that that comfortability of, oh, I'm going
03:33to see these guys again.
03:35It was like, oh, I have to build this relationship outside of, you know, work.
03:39And but that it felt the same going that smell, that one smell going back to set and being around
03:46everyone or doing the lines and looking in the Finn's beautiful eyes and saying,
03:53Okay, honestly, it's very interesting, like growing up with everyone and then now like seeing you.
03:58I remember looking at you in season one and then looking at you now.
04:00It's like interesting.
04:01I know.
04:02It's yeah, it's like I feel like it's felt different and felt the same at the exact same time.
04:07It's really odd.
04:08All the same people.
04:09It's the same set.
04:10It was just like the best experience.
04:12And Jamie, you know, I know that part of your role was very physical, wearing a lot of gear.
04:17I'm interested in how, I guess, different shooting scenes as Vecna was for this season.
04:22I know that the costume kind of changed a little bit.
04:24Did it make things a bit easier on the acting side or was it just kind of a different experience?
04:29It wasn't necessarily like easier or harder per se.
04:34It was definitely different.
04:35Stranger Things 5, what you're seeing is definitely more of a blend between practical and CG.
04:41Whereas, you know, for season four, we were head to toe prosthetic.
04:46Like for season four, I was like, oh, well, of course, there's like an inch, inch and a half of
04:50foam latex that I have to push whatever energy I have.
04:53Whereas for five, there wasn't as much foam latex to work with, but I still needed to have that presence
05:00and that poise and that gait.
05:02So in terms of kind of how I would hold myself and the physicality of it and the gait, that
05:08was all kind of the same.
05:10But then there was the sort of more like energetic, spiritual side of it.
05:13But I still needed and wanted to push that out.
05:16There was the logistical side of it, too.
05:17So I had to work or I got to work with Barry Gower and with Amy more so on just
05:22like creating things for parts of my body that weren't necessarily covered in prosthetics to, again, you know, make sure
05:29that what was needed on set was there.
05:31And also working with Michael as well, just in terms of like where my arms would sit, what we would
05:36need to do with that.
05:37So it just presented new conversations and new dynamics and a new way of working with a collaborative team.
05:59You've obviously been making this season of this series, I should say, for the past decade.
06:04What are you looking forward to in the decade ahead for yourselves?
06:07Looking forward to keep making things with people that I like and people that I really respect as artists.
06:14And also like I'm looking forward to learning a lot more, travel more and be able to see these guys,
06:19be able to see Caleb, you know, pretty consistently, I think will be like a goal of mine as well.
06:24So starting there for sure.
06:25Yeah, what Finn was saying, just kind of just expressing myself artistically, working with people that I love.
06:30I just want to expand my range and see what else I can do.
06:34You know, I feel like there's no limit to creativity or life.
06:37It's amazing.
06:37Well, I can't wait to say that from both of you.
06:39When you started this process a decade ago, did you guys have any inkling where your characters would be going
06:44throughout the series?
06:45Or was like, was there any knowledge of the end point you guys were kind of working towards?
06:49I knew Lucas was going to be in tune with where Max was.
06:54Max, Max, Max, Max, Max, stay with me.
06:57Max, stay with me.
06:59No, no, no, no, no, no, no.
07:00I knew he wasn't going to just forget about the whole ending of season four, but I didn't know how
07:06he was going to deal with it, though.
07:07I didn't know what, if he was going to be in a frenzy or if he was going to be
07:11crying about her absence or her absence of her presence, right?
07:15So it was just kind of the, like, how is Lucas going to deal?
07:19What is his approach to it?
07:20How is he going to treat his friends?
07:22Is he going to project?
07:23Or is he going to be more quiet?
07:25Or, you know, it's like so many different ways.
07:27I mean, I think every season was sort of dropping into a new thing and a new mindset.
07:34And for me, it was just always about just treating each season like it's its own movie and its own
07:41kind of continuation of the story.
07:43And I knew Duffers told me that I would have a little more of, like, an active sort of more
07:48leadership sort of moments in season five that I sort of had more of in seasons one and two.
07:52And so that was something that I was really, like, looking forward to and kind of was told about it.
07:58I had this, like, monologue in the last episode of season four.
08:02That's kind of, I feel like, where that starts for the character or starts back for the character.
08:07Look, thank you so much for your time today, guys.
08:09I really appreciate it.
08:10Congratulations.
