Millie Bobby Brown, the 19-year-old British actor who rose to fame as Eleven in the hit Netflix sci-fi series Stranger Things, has revealed that she is ready to move on from the show as it is “preventing” her from pursuing other projects she is “passionate” about.
Brown, who was just 11 when she first landed the role of the telekinetic girl in 2016, said that she will not mourn the end of Stranger Things, which is set to film its fifth and final season once the ongoing actors’ strike is resolved.
“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 told Glamour magazine in an interview conducted before the SAG-AFTRA strike began. “‘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.’”
Brown noted that starring as Eleven in Stranger Things has given her “the tools and the resources to be a better actor”, adding, “When it ends, I’m going to be able to still see these people.”
Excited for new opportunities
One of her biggest non-Stranger Things projects on the horizon is The Electric State, a post-apocalyptic tentpole from the Russo Brothers co-starring Chris Pratt. Brown said she was thrilled to work with the Guardians of the Galaxy star and to be treated as an equal by the production and the studio.
“To be able to go toe-to-toe with Chris Pratt!” Brown exclaimed. “It’s a very exciting opportunity that I never thought I’d be able to have, to be able to be treated the same as him and to be looked at and respected the same as him on the set by the production, by the studio.”
Brown also expressed her interest in directing and producing her own stories in the future, saying that she has “a lot of ideas” and that she wants to “create a message” for young people.
“I want to create stories that are meaningful and that have a purpose,” she said.
Recalling backlash as a child star
Brown also opened up about the heavy scrutiny she faced from YouTubers and bloggers who would critique her behaviour during group interviews with her castmates, including Finn Wolfhard, Noah Schnapp, Caleb McLaughlin and Gaten Matarazzo.
Brown said she was accused of “trying to steal the thunder” of her co-stars, and grown adults called her “an idiot”, “stupid” and “a brat”.
“It’s hard to hear that at 13,” she said. “You’re like, ‘I don’t want to ever talk again. I don’t want to be the loud person.’”
Brown said that she felt pressured to stay silent and speak only when spoken to during interviews, even though she was “dying to join in”.
“I just felt it wasn’t my turn,” she said.
She explained that her experience as a child star has made her protective of other up-and-coming young actors.
“You cannot speak on children that are underage,” the Enola Holmes actor said. “I mean, our brains physically have not grown yet. To diminish and practically stunt someone’s growth mentally, strip them down, tell them, ‘Hey, listen, you don’t look that great. Why are you wearing that? How dare you think you can wear that? How dare you say that?’”
Engaged to Jon Bon Jovi’s son
Lately, Brown, who is currently engaged to Jon Bon Jovi’s son, 21-year-old Jake Bongiovi, has been busy with wedding plans. However, in a September interview with Women’s Wear Daily, she said that the wedding planning process itself hasn’t been that stressful, as “Jake is very involved”.
“He’s very helpful during the whole process. I’ve never felt alone in it, which is very nice. I’m always like, ‘Is this a good idea? Is this a good idea?’” she said.
Brown also revealed that she wants to have a small wedding with only close friends and family.
“I don’t want anything big or extravagant,” she said. “I just want something simple and intimate.”
