Sadie Sink delivered a stellar and show-stealing performance as Max in Stranger Things season 4. Now, the actress has revealed what prepared her for running up that hill was the emotional gymnastics she’d already gone through for another movie role.
In a chat with The Hollywood Reporter ahead of season 4 volume 2’s release on Netflix, Sink revealed that appearing in another emotionally taxing movie ahead of filming that graveyard scene in “Dear Billy” taught her all she needed to know to bring those tear-jerking sequences to life.
“Before we had shot that scene, I worked on another movie where there was a lot of emotional work, and that was something that I had only tapped into a little bit. But on that movie, I really unlocked something and kind of just discovered the different ways and what I need to kind of get to that emotional state and that level of vulnerability. So I kind of pulled from everything I learned from that set and applied it to Max, as a totally different character, but to her and her circumstances. I really just think about the character and especially for a character like Max that I’ve been with for a while, it’s easy for me to get into that mindset.”
Sink could be referring to Fear Street, a psychological horror she worked on in 2021. The movie in question could also be All Too Well: The Short Film, which was an adaptation of the 10-minute version of Taylor Swift’s “All Too Well,” which the singer wrote and directed herself.
Further discussing “Dear Billy” in particular, here’s what Sadie had to say about the “therapeutic” effect in had on her as an actress.
“For ‘Dear Billy,’ I couldn’t wait to film those scenes because I was so ready to have that release for Max, since she’s never had a scene like that. She’s never had a moment like that to herself. So, to film that was therapeutic in a way, as an actress, I guess, but mostly just me as Max, feeling her open up in that way — it’s been ruined by Vecna — but that fleeting moment of reflection is such a release for her.”
Stranger Things season 4 volume 2 arrives on Netflix on July 1.