An Insider Look at Uniting the Incredible Cast of Stranger Things
There is a simple answer to the question of how Stranger Things achieves such perfect chemistry between its actors. They just love working together.
Streaming movies and TV shows through services like Netflix is wonderful, but with the content being so easily accessible we do miss one thing: bonus features. Fortunately for people who don’t want have thrown out their DVD player and have stopped collecting discs, Netflix provides content like this casting video on their YouTube channel.
Showrunners Matt and Ross Duffer, along with producer Shawn Levy, make appearances, but it’s casting director Carmen Cuba who should get the spotlight for bringing the team together. Cuba reveals that she was looking for kids who understood the role of outsider. She certainly succeeded, but some of the cast members were no outsiders to show business at that point. Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin) tells the camera that he, Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas), and Sadie Sink (Max) all knew each other from their previous jobs on Broadway. McLaughlin had been in The Lion King, Sink in Annie, and Matarazzo in Les Misérables.
David Harbour gets a shout out from the creators and younger actors alike for his dedication on set, and Cuba gives the impression that the role of Jim Hopper was only really meant for him. The Duffer Brothers also admit that they cast Sean Astin in Season 2 because they are “borderline obsessed” with him, which is totally fair considering his tear-jerking Samwise Gamgee in The Lord of the Rings and his role in the iconic Rudy.
Cuba and some of the actors also make a point to mention the importance of the TV show’s crew in bringing Stranger Things to life. From the PAs and visual effects artists that bring the Demogorgons to life to Harbour, Finn Wolfhard and the rest, it’s vital to recognize how many people put in long hours so we can enjoy our all too sort ones on the couch.
Featured Image: David Harbour and Millie Bobby Brown in Stranger Things 2 Courtesy: Netflix