The face that launched a gazillion memes
Stranger Things star Shannon Purser talks about her rise from a movie theatre attendant to an in-demand actress, how the new season of Riverdale is going to pique a lot of people’s interest, and why she’s excited about her first lead role in Sierra Burges
AS RECENTLY AS two years ago, Shannon Purser was toiling at a job in a movie theatre. Back on July 29, 2016, the 19-year-old tweeted the following: “Work’s going well today. Had to gently explain to an old lady why she couldn’t put lemonade in our complimentary water cups. Otherwise chill.”
Today, at 21, she’s an indemand young actress – the face that launched a gazillion memes and GIFS thanks to her role as the late, great and muchmissed Barb on Season 1 of the pop-culture sensation Stranger Things (2016-2017). Purser also co-starred in the horror film
Wish Upon (2017) and the shortlived series Rise (2018), and has a recurring role on Riverdale as Ethel Muggs.
Wait, there’s more: On September 7, she’ll ascend to leading-lady status as the title character in the Netflix movie
Sierra Burgess Is a Loser.
“It’s been pretty overwhelming,” the energetic, well-spoken actress said during a recent telephone conversation from her parents’ home in Georgia.
“It’s totally unexpected. I was so over the moon when I got
Stranger Things, and had no idea the kind of phenomenon it was going to be. It just blew up and people liked the show, people liked me and I was getting all these calls and going out to L.A. to meet people.
“It was just a 180 in my life, going from a movie theatre to being in movies,” she said. “But it’s incredible. It’s what I dreamed about since I was a kid.”
That’s great, but what about Barb? Poor Barb! Barbara Holland, best friend to Nancy Wheeler (Natalia Dyer), appeared in only a few episodes and was killed in the Upside Down by the Demogorgon. Even so, she struck a nerve with viewers. Fans hoped against hope that she’d return, even after Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) discovered Barb’s dead body.
“I just think there’s something so relatable and authentic about Barb,” Purser said.
“She knew who she was and who she wanted to be. She was very content to have this relationship with Nancy, and then it all seemed to fall apart and she was afraid of losing her best friend, afraid that she wasn’t cool enough and needed to change to be more likable.
“That’s something that resonated with me and, I think, with audiences as well,” she said, “because adolescence is really scary. It’s easy to feel that pressure to be somebody that you’re not.”
Playing Sierra Burgess
Now to Sierra Burgess Is a Loser. The film, a small independent production that Netflix purchased, is a charming, often-touching teen film, sort of Mean Girls (2004) meets Cyrano de Bergerac. The story follows Sierra (Purser), a sharp, self-assured high schooler who’s fine not being part of the in crowd.
However, when a case of mistaken identity provides a shot at romance, Sierra joins forces with Veronica (Kristine Froseth), a popular cheerleader with boy problems of her own, to win over their respective guys.
“I love Sierra because I feel like I can relate to her,” Purser said. “Obviously I’m not in the business of cat-fishing people, but I do understand the pressure to be good enough and to be somebody different.
“I think what really drew me to her, is that I think it’s such an important story to tell, that people aren’t usually what they seem and that it’s so much more important to be honest than it is to be popular or to get the attention of some boy,” the actress said.
“I hope that it’s an encouraging message for young people.”
While the plot hinges on bringing together Sierra and handsome, good-natured school jock Jamey (Noah Centineo), the film actually expends more energy on the evolution of Sierra and Veronica from enemies into friends. Purser’s chemistry with Froseth was as important, if not more so, than her chemistry with Centineo.
“That’s one of my favourite things, that there are those different dynamics between the two sort-of-love interests in that way,” Purser said.
“Even though it is a teen romance, I think there is something special about Sierra’s relationship with Veronica, and a big part of that is just how well I get along with Kristine.
“You never know how somebody who is playing your arch-nemesis is going to be in real life,” she said. “Kristine is wonderful, just incredibly kind and, obviously, super-talented. I enjoyed that dynamic
I really love human beings and understanding them and how their minds work, and I think it’s cool that acting gives me an opportunity to live so many different kinds of lives. I’m very grateful to have this job, because I love it so much.” Shannon Purser
between the two girls, because I don’t think we see enough female friendships in movies, especially movies geared toward younger people.
“Sierra and Veronica approach each other feeling very different from one another. I love that they then realise that they have a lot more in common than they thought.”
New season of Riverdale
Only a few weeks after Sierra
Burgess Is a Loser premieres, on October 10, the CW network will launch the third season of
Riverdale. The show debuted to modest ratings, but attracted a massive, fiercely loyal audience in the United States and abroad after its first season joined the queue on Netflix.
“It’s totally another phenomenon, but it’s completely different from Stranger
Things,” Purser said. “I’ve never had such a large cast of people my own age, and that’s really cool, actually, because a lot of us are going through very similar things in our personal lives and in our professional lives. So I think we connect there.
“Also, I like that it’s so stylised and melodramatic,” she added.
“It’s something different and it’s fun.”
Up to this point in the conversation, Purser had been chatty and detailed. At the mention of Riverdale, though, while she sounded no less enthusiastic, she clearly was choosing her words carefully. “I think this season is definitely going to pique a lot of people’s interest,” Purser said. “All I can say is that you will see a whole new side of my character, Ethel, and that everything is not as it seems. And that’s all I’ll say.”
Love for reading
Purser said that her path to acting started with an affection for reading. “Kind of a weird kid” who “didn’t have a whole lot of friends,” she filled her days with books. These days acting – as well as singing, playing the piano and writing music – serves as her outlet.
“In the way that I used to love escaping into characters in books, now I get to do that in movies,” Purser said. “I really love human beings and understanding them and how their minds work, and I think it’s cool that acting gives me an opportunity to live so many different kinds of lives. I’m very grateful to have this job, because I love it so much.”
Purser doesn’t yet have a next project. She’s eager to gauge the reaction to Sierra Burgess Is
a Loser, which could open the door to more movies.
Whatever happens, though, her star is clearly on the rise, as is her influence, particularly on young women who feel a bond with her.
Dealing with depression
In April 2017 Purser took to Twitter to “get personal.” This past May she contributed an article to Teen Vogue in which she addressed how she has coped with depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Her aim, ultimately, is to support others dealing with the issues that she has faced in her own life.
However, Purser acknowledged that it’s complicated juggling that end of the fame game. How much should she share? How much is too much?
“I’ve put a lot of thought into everything,” Purser said, “because I am an obsessive person, so I definitely tread very carefully when it comes to social media and put a lot of thought into what I say before I say it. But (sharing) things about mental health has not really scared me, for some reason.
“I know that it’s a very personal journey,” she continued.
“It is for a lot of people, and I certainly wouldn’t expect anybody to feel the need to have to share it. It’s a cause that’s very important to me, and I feel that I’ve gained so much through therapy and through my own journey, but I really just want to be kind of an encouragement to other people going through the same thing.”
Purser has heard from more than enough fans to know that she’s had an impact on others. That means a great deal to her.
“I don’t think of myself as a saviour or anything, but it’s really encouraging to know that I am making a difference, however big or small,” Purser said.
“It’s always my goal to help other people feel more seen and understood. There is something very gratifying about knowing that I’ve helped people.” Ian Spelling, The New York Times Syndicate
I was so over the moon when I got Stranger Things, and had no idea the kind of phenomenon it was going to be.”
Shannon Purser