ATTENTION, SPOILER! This post contains details from Stranger Things 5 Volume 2.
Jamie Campbell BowerVecna becomes even more terrifying in the second volume of the final season, where the monster comes one step closer to realizing his plan to unite the human world with another dimension.
As viewers learn over the course of three episodes, the Upside Down is the wormhole that has connected Hawkins to this alternate dimension Dustin calls “The Abyss,” which they believe is the true home of the mind flayers, demogorgons, and the rest of the evils that have haunted them for the past four years—even, it seems, Henry Creel.
The characters were completely unable to find Vecna throughout the season because, as it turned out, he was hiding in this alternate dimension that they didn't know about and couldn't access (since it's located thousands of yards above them). While they unravel this mystery, Vecna tries to keep Holly (Nell Fisher) and Max (Sadie Sink) from escaping the prison of his mind. The girls realize that in order to get out, they will have to wade through Henry's memories rather than their own, leading to a heartbreaking moment when they witness a very young Henry kill a man he meets… in a cave. This seems to provide insight into why Henry doesn't enter the cave Max and Holly were hiding in, although there are still some questions left to be answered in the finale.
Although Max manages to get out, Holly is not so lucky. By the end of the penultimate episode, she's back in his clutches, and Henry begins the process of uniting the worlds, teasing a final head-to-head showdown in the two-hour finale.
“[Episode] 8 comes out very hot, right after 7. It's time. This is really, really explosive,” Campbell Bower told Deadline.
In the interview below, the actor talks about his descent into the madness of Henry Creel in the second volume of the show's fifth and final season. Stranger Things.
From left to right: Noah Schnapp as Will Byers and Jamie Campbell Bower as Vecna in the fifth season of Stranger Things.
Courtesy of Netflix
DEADLINE: Was any of the information we learned about Henry passed on to you after season four when you took on the role? What did you know initially?
JAMIE CAMPBELL BAUER: I don't think any of this was offered to me when I joined. I remember towards the end of filming the Henry part in season four, Matt, Ross and I had a little conversation on the side and they said, “That was amazing.” It was always our intention to bring you back as Vecna, but now we feel like we should bring you back more as you are.” and I was like, “Cool.” Sounds great. Whatever you guys want. So, as far as the storyline goes, none of that was offered to me, and I think from what I heard and read from Matt and Ross, it was something that developed between them.
DEADLINE: I really like that we're going to see more of Henry this season. And I'm curious, what was it like working with some of these younger kids, especially when you had to be so hard on them? What did you gain from this experience? Because they give so much back to you emotionally. And I'm wondering what it was like for you, a more experienced and older actor, to play with them in that sandbox.
CAMPBELL BAUER: It was amazing. I mean, there were definitely times when I was scared. I talked about this today and also when we discussed the first chapters. As for Mr. Whatsit, it's a presentation and the intent is buried. Therefore, when you sit opposite a child, hiding your intention, children can naturally see through the bullshit and lies. It's very scary to sit there sometimes… but it was also a lot of fun because the kids were so wonderful. There were so many funny moments where we played games between takes, and especially in the last scene of episode seven, where we were all sitting around the table, it was one of the first times that, I mean, you know, obviously, other than the beginning of episode five, we were all together and we were having a great day. It was just wonderful and fun to play with them. They are so wonderful and so receptive, and it was a pleasure to meet them and work with them. They are all amazing. I love Jake very much. I just think he's the sweetest boy and I've gotten to know his family too and he's just a great kid. I'm so glad the fans and the world have accepted Derek into their hearts. I always hoped for him the most. I thought, “He's so cool.” I hope it happens,” and it did and I’m so happy for him.
DEADLINE: You've talked about how Henry, and especially Vecna's head, is a difficult place to be as an actor, and I'm curious how you were able to unpack some of what happened to him when he was a child? I'm particularly thinking about the scene where we see Henry as a child killing that scientist in the cave, and it's a really jarring scene.
CAMPBELL BAUER: This is something I was thinking about even in the fourth season, and qualified between 4 and 5 when I went to see the play. So, playing out these scenes, I felt a huge sense of relief at times, and it was also very important for me to go into these scenes with an awareness of the trauma and the experience in order to move that level of humanity forward. This season I've described Henry and the way I approach it as having a memory, but hidden away somewhere. So when I get to unearth that, it really humanizes my experience and character, because there are times when I feel wildly inhuman, monstrous, and I know it sounds obvious, but it feels really monstrous. So I definitely enjoyed those moments a lot.
DEADLINE: There's a scene in the episode. [5] what I really like is how we see in real time how Henry sort of went from the First to Vecna. How do you deal with the subtle differences in the evolution of this character over those time periods to be able to pull off something like this?
CAMPBELL BAUER: I mean, I think it was always the case that the mask failed, it fell, and what I came to with Henry at the end of Season 4 Episode 7 was how I wanted to bring him back when we see him again. It was in this emotional space. Having lived in Mister Whatsit already in season 5, for me there is a difference between the two, no matter how small it may be, there is a difference. So yes, there are emotional differences and difficulties, but there are also physical ones. [ones]. It was on this particular moment, on the physicality of it, that we worked, actually, with someone who works in the video game industry, and used things called nodes, which are like certain moments that you go to and that you return to. So we worked on the change between Something and Henry off set before filming.
I was going through my videos the other day and doing it on stage, trying different things, trying out how I want my head to move and where my hands will be. Yes, it's a very short moment, but we spent a lot of time on it just to make sure it was right and that it was cool. A lot of it has to do with intuition and pre-work, so when you get into the space you just think, “Oh, this is what naturally these characters would do here.” It was really fun. It was really cool to do something more shape-shifting. In England we have three exams in your years, roughly between 13 and 18, and the middle one is called your AS (Advanced Subsidiary) levels, and I danced AS levels. I got to really dive into the dance side of my childhood and it was really fun. It was nice to know that it was still there and, God, it wasn't like it had completely disappeared.
Jamie Campbell Bower as Henry Creel in Stranger Things
Courtesy of Netflix
DEADLINE: How do you feel emotionally about the separation between Henry and Vecna? Is it just a loss of humanity? How do you make that distinction in your head when you're playing these characters?
CAMPBELL BAUER: I mean, it really depends on what we call the loss of humanity. Because is it distance from the heart, or is it monstrous in the sense of monsters? I think Henry was so close, was so much closer to innocence, was so much closer to experience, and then when he was sent to that slimy, stringy demise at the end [Season] Episode four was about resentment, and at that moment it felt like humanity was gone. It seemed to me that the possibility of love was so far away. I talk about love as the thing that keeps us alive, and so I think that Henry, if we look at it from that perspective, it's like Henry is close to innocence, the “What is it” is even further removed, and Vecna is just like… it's impossible – almost impossible – for anything to exist that feels like love.
DEADLINE: What are your expectations for the finale and what do you ultimately hope people take away from this character that you've thought and played so much about?
CAMPBELL BAUER: As for what we can expect from the finale, I'm truly, really excited for Episode 8 to come out. I feel like Episode 7 is because I obviously know what's coming in 8 and we come away in my opinion pretty much knowing what's coming, a pretty hefty cliffhanger, and 8 comes out really hot, right after 7. The time has come. It's really very explosive. I'm really excited for people to see it because I know what it's like to work on it too, and it's really cool. What do I hope people take away from this character? Wow, I'm still in the process of doing this. Like, I'm really still working on this because I've spent so much time in it and I don't know if I can see the forest for the trees yet. I'm not sure. A lot of this character is based on the idea of loneliness. A lot of this character is based on the idea of salvation. I had to fall in love, and I fell in love with Henry Creel. I should have wanted to protect him. I had to want to raise him and love him because that's my duty as the person who plays him. I have to understand it, and I don't know what it's like to be a spectator, but watching it from afar, I don't know. I would have to give myself another six months to really realize this.
