‘As actors and characters, we’ve evolved so much; it’s kind of cool’
Stranger Things actors Priah Ferguson and Sadie Sink recall their journey on the show ahead of season 4 finale
II think friendship plays a big role in the show.
PRIAH FERGUSON, Actor
It’s amazing to look at the people we have become.
SADIE SINK, Actor
t’s been seven years and four seasons that sci-fi horror drama Strangers Things has been wooing audiences across age groups. And now, as the show nears its season finale, its cast members feel overwhelmed looking at the journey they’ve had so far. “All the characters have evolved and matured so much in these years. It’s crazy to look back at the past seasons and see how much we have grown as humans, as actors — not just with the show, but even with the interviews and everything we’ve been through,” says Sadie Sink aka Max Mayfield, adding, “We are in such different places now [as individuals] and it’s just amazing to look at the people we’ve become — it’s kind of cool.”
During a conversation with us in Sydney, Australia, for the fan event of season 4 of the Netflix show, Sink and Priah Ferguson aka Erica Sinclair talk about their character arcs and what’s in store for audiences in the season finale.
Ferguson tells us, “Erica is just full of surprises. In volume one, she steps in as a leader and realises that she’s a nerd, so you get to see her play around with that. I don’t want to say much but in volume two, you will get to see what more she has to offer. She has contributed well to the team and she’s very resourceful, so you’re going to see more of her personality.”
Sink’s Max entered the show in the second season and it was an intense portrayal with a character that won’t talk much and struggled to fit in. “Max has always been very closed off, but the third season showed a more fun side of her and that was nice to play with. And now, in season four, she again goes back to her season two mindset initially, and then it gets even more intensified in terms of shutting herself off [after being attacked by Vecna’s curse and the entire Dear Billy episode],” recalls Sink, who admits that when she first appeared on the show, she was very young, and “was still kind of getting comfortable in front of the camera”.
Stranger Things blends a host of genres — horror, thrill, sci-fi, drama, dark humour and friendship. Ask Ferguson and Sink about their favourite part of the show that they connect with the most, and the former says, “I think friendship plays a big role in the show. It, in a way, anchors the whole group [Will, Mike, Lucas, Dustin, Eleven and other key characters] back to each other no matter how apart they are, to resolve the bigger issue (fight outworldly monsters). That’s what I really like about the show.”
Sink goes a bit deeper in her thoughts and shares that it’s the emotional stuff that she gets drawn to the most. “My favourite stuff to film is, of course the supernatural things and heavy scenes, that’s fun. But what I personally like to do is stuff that’s a little more grounded, where you get to play real with human emotions and all those things. And season four has a lot of that,” the actor ends.