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‘Stranger Things’ has a new cast member, Sadie Sink. She’s joining the hit show as Max, a mysterious tomboy who befriends Mike and the gang. We caught up with her to talk about conspiracy theories, learning to skateboard and worrying about having to shave her head for the show.
What’s your character like?
‘I play Max. She’s the new girl in town – she moves from California to Hawkins with her stepbrother Billy. She’s a tomboy and a skater girl who becomes friends with the boys at the middle school. She adds this new element to the show.’
Have you got powers?
‘I can’t say…’
That’s not a no... But your character is a bit of a tomboy – what kind of clothes do you wear?
‘She always wears jeans and a tracksuit sweater-type jacket. That’s pretty much it. She’s not the most stylish person. She doesn’t really care what she looks like.’
Millie Bobby Brown had to shave her hair to play Eleven. Did you have to do anything drastic?
‘No, but I was scared I would. My family would joke, like, “Maybe you’re going to have to shave your head” and I’d be like, “no, obviously I’m not going to have to do that”. On my first day on set someone said, “okay Sadie, you’re going to have an appointment with the hair department and maybe discuss a haircut”. My heart stopped. But they didn’t do anything, which was a huge relief.’
Did you watch the show before?
‘Yeah, I was a big fan, so to be on the show is surreal.’
Did you find it scary to watch?
‘Oh yeah, I had to turn the volume down and squint my eyes. I don’t do well with scary movies.’
What’s it like on set? Do you guys all hang out and joke around?
‘All the time. It’s kind of hard to keep a straight face when all the kids are together. No actual work gets done when we’re all together for school, because we all have crazy schedules so we use that time to catch up, not, like, doing geometry homework.’
Do you prank each other?
‘Basically every day. I remember always giving the teachers a hard time – pranking them and pranking each other, whether it was scaring them when they came into the room or big elaborate pranks where you’re shooting water guns at each other.’
The second season starts in time for Halloween. What’s been your best Halloween costume?
‘I was a “Toddlers & Tiaras” pageant girl one time. I wore a giant tutu, a sash and a gown and I had fake eyelashes and fake nails. I don’t wear make up really so my friend had to do it for me – I was clueless in that department.’
What would your personal Upside Down look like?
‘You wouldn’t be able to see anything, but you’d know that there are spiders everywhere. They’d be crawling all over you. Oh my God, I can’t even. Ugh.’
Do you have much in common with your character?
‘I wouldn’t necessarily say I’m a tomboy, but I’m definitely not a girly girl. Max likes skateboarding... Sadie did not at first, but I had to learn. Now I like it.’
Was it hard to learn?
‘I had one month to learn how to skateboard and I would do three hours of skateboard lessons every day. The hardest part was making it look like I’d been skateboarding my entire life, when in reality I’d only been doing it for a month.’
What can you tell us about season 2 that will surprise people?
‘Honestly, I think most things you’re going to be surprised about. Every once in a while I see a fan make up a theory and they’re either really far off or almost there. It’s crazy when you see a theory that’s pretty much true and you’re like, “how do they know?” And it’s hilarious to see the ones that are completely wrong.
What’s your favourite conspiracy theory about the show?
‘Reading stuff about my character is pretty funny. A lot of people say “she’s a spy” or “she’s not really their friend”. Or “she and Millie are spies”. That’s a common one. It’s funny how these theories spread.’
Stranger Things 2 is available on Netflix from Oct 27.
Want more ‘Stranger Things’ chat? We spoke to Finn Wolfhard about the Duffer brothers, ’80s clothes and weird fan requests.