Stranger Things helped skyrocket Millie Bobby Brown to fame — but that doesn’t mean she wants to work on the show forever.
“When you’re ready, you’re like, ‘All right, let’s do this. Let’s tackle this last senior year. Let’s get out of here,’” Brown, 19, said in her Glamour cover story, which was published on Monday, October 16, about being more than ready to tackle season 5 of Stranger Things.
When it comes to other projects, the actress doesn’t want to be held back by commitments to the hit Netflix series. “Stranger Things takes up a lot of time to film and it’s preventing me from creating stories that I’m passionate about. So I’m ready to say, ‘Thank you, and goodbye,’” she continued.
Brown also explained why she wasn’t worried about saying goodbye to her costars, adding, “When it ends, I’m going to be able to still see these people.”
Stranger Things, which premiered in 2016, introduced viewers to the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana, where a series of supernatural events cause mystery and mayhem. After the show’s overnight success, Stranger Things stars — including Brown, Finn Wolfhard, Noah Schnapp, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton and Joe Keery — became household names.
Creators Matt and Ross Duffer originally announced in February 2022 that the show would end after season 5. The cast has since weighed in on saying goodbye to the show — and what they are looking forward to after season 5 is filmed.
Production on the final season, however, previously was put on pause amid the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Most Hollywood TV and film productions ceased filming in May as writers fought for fair pay following failed negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). The actors’ union followed suit by officially going on strike two months later.
The WGA and AMPTP were able to reach a deal in September. Writers on various productions returned to work later that month, but no projects can be filmed until SAG-AFTRA and AMPTP agree on a new contract. (Negotiations resumed earlier this month but have since been stalled.)
During her interview with Glamour, Brown recalled the challenges she faced as a child star, such as being criticized for her interview presence.
“We’re kids — we talk over each other. I was just penalized for overtalking and oversharing and being too loud,” she said about being accused of “trying to steal the thunder” of her cast mates while promoting the series.
According to Brown, adults would refer to her as an “an idiot” and “a brat.”
“It’s hard to hear that at 13. You’re like, ‘I don’t want to ever talk again. I don’t want to be the loud person,’” she noted. “In interviews I couldn’t help but think of all the comments. So I just remembered to stay silent and speak when I was spoken to, even though I was dying to join in. I just felt it wasn’t my turn.”
Brown has since been able to come into her own and her fiancé, Jake Bongiovi, has been a major part of that journey.
“When I met Jake, I just felt I could be loud. He embraced that and encouraged that. And I fell in love with myself while being with him,” Brown told the outlet on Monday. “He was a really big, huge part of me loving myself and becoming a woman. It was like, ‘Wow, I really love this person because he allows me to love myself.’”
