SPOILER ALERT: This story contains spoilers from Season 5, Volume 1 of “Stranger Things.”
Not even on the fantastical “Stranger Things” can Karen Wheeler kill a Demogorgon while armed only with her super-charged maternal protectiveness and a broken wine bottle. But she sure did try.
Karen — the perpetually bewildered, out-of-the-loop mom of Mike, Nancy and Holly Wheeler, played since Season 1 by Cara Buono — finally is clued into the existence of Hawkins’ deadly other dimension when no less than a Demogorgon enters her home, hellbent (literally) on stealing her youngest child, Holly (Nell Fisher). Though she’s been drinking all night, and is intent on taking a nice, relaxing bath, Karen snaps into focus, desperate to save Holly. As the ABBA song “Fernando” plays, Karen holds Holly under the water of her bubble bath, disguising them. Then, in the kitchen, Karen pushes Holly away from the Demogorgon, breaks a wine bottle and determinedly says, “Stay away from my daughter!,” emphasizing every word. She then goes wild, stabbing away at the other-worldly creature. But Karen can’t win: By the time Nancy (Natalia Dyer) and Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) get to the Wheeler house, she’s been mauled, nearly to death, as the Demo fulfills his orders to take Holly to the Upside Down.
Buono has had a long, fruitful career, in theater, film and on television, where she’s appeared in such shows as “The Sopranos,” “Person of Interest,” “The Girl From Plainville” and many more. On “Mad Men,” she played the formidable Dr. Faye, who sees Don Draper for who he is, meaning that in the end, he couldn’t deal with her at all — but Buono was nominated for an Emmy for guest actress in a drama for the role.
Joe Chrest as Ted Wheeler and Cara Buono as Karen Wheeler
Courtesy of Netflix
Since July 2016, Buono has played Karen, the stalwart but thwarted Wheeler mom on “Stranger Things.” Karen has always been on the periphery of the show’s action, with her children Mike and Nancy constantly heading into danger without her knowledge. Until “Stranger Things 5,” the Wheeler home has been a sanctuary for the kids and their friends, with its basement serving as a safe space and headquarters. Even if she’s dissatisfied with her marriage and her life — which manifested in her lusting after Billy, the doomed teenage lifeguard in Season 3 — Karen is there to cook for everyone, and hug them when they’re hurt and scared. “The show has been like a decade of my life, right?” Buono says. “Professionally and emotionally, as a mom — it’s rare to be part of something that long that’s become a cultural heartbeat. It did this impossible thing of touching people all over the world. I meet people from all over the world, and they relate to it.”
Here, Buono reflects on her time on “Stranger Things” — getting the role, her backstory for Karen (“She’s a functioning alcoholic!”) and getting to kick ass for the first time in five seasons. The ass-kicking was especially gratifying after all this time, she says, and she especially delighted in reading a Season 5 script and seeing that creators Matt and Ross Duffer had written “Karen fucking Wheeler” in the stage directions. “It was just so fun,” Buono says, “with the whole cast and crew clapping.”
And disclosure: Buono and I knew each other a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away.
Hi!
Are we allowed to talk as people who’ve known each other?
I think so! I mean, I’m going to disclose that I’ve known you — let’s just say we knew each other in New York City in the late ’90s.
When we were 10! When we were 10 years old.
When we were very young people — children, really! OK, let’s get down to Karen business. What do you remember about what you knew about “Stranger Things” when you auditioned?
Well, it was called “Montauk.” I got the script, and I just fell in love with it. I just loved the writing, and just wanted to be on it. I auditioned for it, as we all did back in the day, in person, before there was self-tape. I was in the mix, as they say — and I was obsessed with it. The Duffers were on Facebook at the time, when we were all on Facebook, and I wrote them a message and said, “Hey, I know I’m in the mix, but I want to be on your show, whether it’s Season 1 or Season 4. I just really believe in it. I just feel a connection to it.” I was really campaigning for it.
Courtesy of Netflix
Why do you think you loved it so much?
I love science fiction, and I love D & D. It’s just an instinct for me. I have a feeling. And then when I finally met the Duffers, I said, “OK, these are my people.” I think I was one of the few people they didn’t have to convince, because I was really gunning for it, and championing them. I liked the characters; I loved the story. It was one of those things I just read so quickly.
And from what I gather, Season 1 was filmed in a bubble — no one knew what was going to happen. What were you thinking during Season 1?
My daughter just turned 3, so I was commuting from New York. It’s funny, it was going to shoot in Montauk, Long Island, and when it went to Atlanta, I almost passed because I said, “Oh, I can’t be away from my daughter that long.” But then I said, “Oh, whatever. I’ll just commute.”
What was so lovely about Season 1 was everyone there loved the show. Everyone was happy to be there, and it was a lot of fun and excitement. And that that still carried on throughout all five seasons, for sure. We’d have lunch together, and hang out a little bit more. And the kids, of course, were just really young kids.
Over the first four seasons, Karen is constantly being kept in the dark as to what’s going on with her children and with Hawkins in general. What was that like for you as an actor?
I think in the ’80s, the clueless mom was prevalent, right? And I think that really works for the comedy of Karen, which I loved, playing — that cluelessness.
As an actor, I thought, OK, this is really funny, but how do I make this real for myself? And that’s when I came up with this idea that she’s drinking a lot and often, and probably by herself. We don’t see that, but she’s anesthetizing herself, I’d say, in her bedroom, and sneaking the wine. That’s how I justified for myself.
Nell Fisher as Holly Wheeler
Courtesy of Netflix
Did you ever feel left out? Like, I’m playing a character who’s left out, and therefore I feel left out?
Oh! No, I never felt left out. I just leaned into this idea of Karen being the ultra-clueless mom.
And in fact, I had a plan for when the series ended, because I thought she’d just be like, “Oh well, that’s the end!” And still remain in the dark forever. I was going to do a YouTube series called “Cocktails With Karen.” Like, people claim this happened and, have conspiracy theories — and evolve into the Karen trope that we have now. I thought, “Oh, I’ll have this whole thing down the line. I’m gonna make a meal out of this one later on.”
So I can’t do that anymore.
Sure can’t. Once you got the script for the second episode, were you like, whoa, this is a whole thing? It’s a massive set piece!
I was emotional to read it. Of course, I always wanted Karen to be part of the storyline, and get in there and fight and be part of the action. They really leaned into that mom ferocity — like, this quiet character that we sort of underestimated, and then just giving her this moment of courage. I think the audience is going to be excited, but I don’t think they’re going to be surprised, in the sense that Karen is capable of doing it. I think they’ll say, “Yeah, of course — she’s going to definitely defend her family.”
I interviewed Nell Fisher, and we talked about filming the scene in the tub, and how you developed a competition about staying underwater.
We did. We did! It was such a joy to work with her, because everyone’s grown up now, so now I had another kid on the set, right? We were very playful. It was just a lot of fun to do all the technical aspects of it.
Courtesy of Netflix
How long did it take to film the scene in the Wheeler house?
Well, we shot the tank stuff. When you’re in the tank, you think, oh, it’s pretty easy to stay down, but your feet start rising — things would just go wrong. You’re like, “Oh, I need to weight around my waist to keep me down, to keep us from floating up.” These are things you just don’t know until you’re in the water! Making sure the wig stays on; Karen’s makeup always stays on. The mascara came out perfectly.
And then the actual sequence, running out of the bathroom, down the stairs, into the kitchen, and the slipping on the kitchen floor. Because we come right from the tub to running, we’re drenched. We’re not just a little wet, we are soaking wet. You get dry pretty quickly, so we had to take a lot of breaks to get hosed down as if we had just got out of the tub. So if the hair started to look a little bit dry, they had to wet it down. You had to wet down the nightgown. You had to make sure it was sopping wet — dripping, dripping, dripping at all times.
At the premiere in L.A., the audience burst into applause when Karen breaks the bottle and tries to stab the Demogorgon. How did that feel? People Iove Karen!
With the young fans, I always get this thing of, “I wish you were my mom!” or “you’re such a cool mom.” And I think other parents relate to her devotion, and to her love of her kids. It was a lot of fun to hear the whole audience break into raucous cheering. And also seeing it on a big screen!
What was it like to film the scene in the hospital when Karen is struggling to communicate about Mr. Whatsit to Nancy and Mike?
When I saw the final scene of where Nancy finds Karen on the floor in the blood, it seemed like they added more blood in the special effects. But I remember them both showing up, and Millie going, “How does she live?!”
There has to be this balance of reality, but then also it’s “Stranger Things,” right? There are monsters, and there’s the Upside Down. So for me, waking up that moment, and her as a mom, just like, “Where’s my daughter?” I have to get up enough energy to communicate clearly enough information to go get her. She writes “Henry.”
I was also like, “God, she’s so drunk. How is she managing any of this?”
Your adrenaline can take over, and topple the drunkenness in that case. We’re making it work!
Before you see Karen sitting on the tub, I had her be much more drunk, and much more unstable. She’s a functioning alcoholic! I mean, to me, she’s been a functioning alcoholic for a long time — especially, I would imagine, after Billy died.
Courtesy of Netflix
What are you excited for viewers to see in Volume 2?
Well, we know she doesn’t die. And I love that they saw this for me, and they were always thinking of this. What I’ve learned from the best showrunners, the best creators, is they’ve always had the ending in mind from the beginning. And if you look at Season 1, the Demogorgon is reaching out for Holly at Joyce’s house, and then he comes back for Holly, right?
We see glimpses of Karen, little glimpses of her strength, little insights into her. Not much, but enough that it builds up to how she interacts as a mom — it makes sense. You can see that she’s gonna do this.
The Duffers told us that they tried to make it so everyone’s last day was their final scene. Was that the case for you?
In Season 1, I was day one, scene one, take one. And the last day, I was second to last scene, I think. I have two lines that I say at the end. I’ve never done so many takes for two lines, because every time I would open this door, I was about to cry. Like everybody! So it was nice to be in the company of people who are always on the verge of tears, who really understood the moment.
Courtesy of Netflx
Look, I’ve been acting for a long time, and I’ve had incredible experiences, and I know when something is really, really special and unique. I’m so grateful for this opportunity, and the length of it. It wasn’t lost on any of us how truly special and meaningful this whole experience was. They let down all this confetti. And there was a big, big ending that was orchestrated with balloons and everything, but we still had to finish it up. I love that they designed it to shoot this scene the last day, and have it circle back to the very first day.
And my family was there, and everyone’s family was there. I think someday I’ll come up with the right words for it, and be like, “Ah, I wish I would have said this about it.” But it’s just all deep in my heart.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
• The Duffer Brothers Answer Volume 1 Burning Questions
• Noah Schnapp on Will’s Game-Changing Discovery
• Nell Fisher on Playing Holly Wheeler and Working With Max
• Linda Hamilton on Being Millie Bobby Brown’s ‘Biggest Fan’
• Shawn Levy on ‘Sticking the Landing’ for Season 5
• David Harbour on How ‘Stranger Things’ Has Changed Him
• The Cast of ‘Stranger Things’ on the Show’s Final Days
