He’s been right in front of our faces this whole time.
Warning: This article contains spoilers forStranger Thingsseason 4.
Jamie Campbell Bower wants to apologize to fans ofStranger Things.
Jamie Campbell Bower as Henry Creel and Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven in ‘Stranger Things’ season 4.NETFLIX
WhenNetflixannounced him among the cast of season 4, he was named inthe series regular role of Peter Ballard.
Tired of the brutality he witnesses day after day, will Peter finally take a stand?"
“I can only apologize to fans of the show for being part of such a massive red herring.
Vecna, the new demo-creature, is revealed in the latest ‘Stranger Things’ season 4 trailer.Netflix
I remember seeing it and being like, ‘Okay, guys.
But when One manipulates Eleven into removing it, he unleashes his telekinetic wrath, killing nearly everyone.
Eleven, however, is able to overpower him.
Campbell finally opens up about playing Henry/One/Vecna.
And, yes, that is him wearing the Vecna prosthetics and making that deep Vecna voice.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: I know everyone involved withStranger Thingstypically likes to keep secrets close to the vest.
I’m curious how much about this character you knew going into the audition.
JAMIE CAMPBELL BOWER:I knew nothing.
They sent me two sets of sides, originally.
One was fromPrimal Fearand the other one was fromHellraiser.
[The scene] was actually what ended up being the Chrissy kill.
Then I was in L.A. and I just went mad.
I was pretty quiet during the meeting.
Do you mind if I show you?”
That’s interesting aboutPrimal FearandHellraiser.
Did you take a lot of influences from those two works into this performance?
Primal Fear, less so.Hellraiser, I love.
I love Clive Barker.
To my utter shame, I love all theHellraisers.
Their references are so beautiful and so brilliant and are the things that I love.
With Vecna, I saw this resentment, this really built-up anger.
You know when you get so angry, you start shaking you’re trying to hold it together?
That’s what I took.
I started at the end and then had to track back and think.
The sweetness was a very jarring process to attach to all this burning fury that’s inside.
Do you know where that name came from?
I have no idea where the name Peter Ballard came from.
I can only apologize to fans of the show for being part of such a massive red herring.
I remember seeing it and being like, “Okay, guys.
Is it you under the prosthetics of Vecna and also doing the voice?
Yeah, that’s me doing the voice under the prosthetics.
It’s all me.
Ninety percent is practical.
The only thing that is not practical are the vines moving on the neck.
The voice was an interesting thing.
It took me a minute to get that.
I’d done so much work on Henry and One before the read-through.
I knew how Vecna felt, but I hadn’t quite got the voice yet.
I was like, “Oh no, we don’t use that.”
He was like, “What do you mean?”
And I was like, “It’s all me.”
He was like, “Yeah, whatever.
And so I did it and he was like, “Right.
I’ve canceled the octave of that.
It’s off now.”
I hope this is coming across well.”
How did just wearing the prosthetics shape your physical performance as Vecna?
The physical element of Vecna came beforehand.
I knew I was going to have this incredibly long hand.
There’s a certain stillness to him.
Everything’s very methodical.
I would spend time walking around downtown Los Angeles or going for a hike, just feeling this out.
There was another really interesting thing that came as we were filming, too.
It came from within.
I really need to own this space 100 percent.”
Then when the costume was on, it was about applying those sensitivities that I created in my mind.
There’s that Kubrickian stare that I wanted to bring into it, as well.
There’s still so much we don’t really know about Henry’s evolution into Vecna.
We don’t really know how he went from being a lab rat to being an orderly.
How much of that backstory do you know, or did you even want to know coming into this?
I knew and assumed a lot going into it.
I needed to know all of that for be able to track the story.
We also have two more episodes that we’re going to get later this year in Volume II.
By all signs, it seems like it’s setting up for a rematch between One and Eleven.
How would you describe these final two episodes compared to what people see in Volume I?
I’m going to toe the party line here.
If you thought that it was as big as it could get, it’s not.
It goes further, visually, story-wise, and emotionally for all the characters.
It really is quite an explosive climax, let’s say.
It goes a lot further and we get to know more as well.
We learn a lot more as an audience in these final two episodes, as well.
Does that include more of Henry’s backstory?
I couldn’t possibly say.
I feel like a politician sometimes.
You get to know more about all the characters.
Have you had any conversations about returning for that?
I have had conversations about where the show goes in season 5.
I couldn’t possibly give any spoilers or tell you anything at all, but I know a bit.
Stranger Thingsseason 4, Volume I is currently streaming on Netflix.
(Read ourfull recap.)
Volume II is set to premiere on July 1.
