Why Millie Bobby Brown Almost Quit Acting Before Starring In Stranger Things
"Stranger Things" has made quite a mark on Netflix's viewership numbers following its shockingly dark fourth season. The latest penultimate set of episodes brought Hawkins its most brutal and horrific threat yet in the form of the Freddy Krueger-esque Vecna and offered the streaming giant its highest watch metrics ever, aside from standout international hit "Squid Game" (via CNET).
Of course, much of the success of the Duffer brothers' paranormal science fiction hit comes on the back of its brilliant ensemble cast. David Harbour, Joe Keery, Caleb McLaughlin, and Finn Wolfhard have already emerged as stars from their performances on "Stranger Things," but the series' biggest breakout performer is arguably Millie Bobby Brown.
Portraying the mysterious, aloof psychic Eleven, Brown has brought nuance and vulnerability to one of the strongest people in the world. However, all the success that has followed Brown since she landed the role on "Stranger Things" could have been lost if she'd taken the early advice she received from a casting director.
A casting director told Brown she was too mature
Millie Bobby Brown sat down with Allure for an interview, and she had a surprising story to share involving an encounter with "a powerful casting director" and the no-holds-barred criticism they leveled at the young performer. Simply put, Brown was "too mature." To twist the knife further, they also told her that "she wasn't going to make it in the industry" due to this indisputable fact. Though Brown, only 10 at the time, was understandably devastated by the casting director's comments, a mere three months later, she was cast in "Stranger Things."
Brown has since gone on to star in blockbuster movies like "Godzilla: King of Monsters" and "Enola Holmes," the latter of which has a sequel on the way, also starring Brown. Furthermore, with a final season of "Stranger Things" currently being written, things are going pretty well for the young actor.
Time and time again, we hear these stories. Heck, Hwang Dong-hyuk, who created the aforementioned Netflix hit "Squid Game," wrote the script 13 years before the show finally premiered (via Deadline). It just goes to show that if you have a dream, you should never stop chasing it — the path to success could always be right around the corner.
Brown turned her supposed weakness into a strength
Still, even though Millie Bobby Brown struggled to feel comfortable in her own skin and be understood, she took those feelings of alienation and used them to her advantage. "I enjoyed being different people because I always struggled with self-identity and knowing who I was," Brown said in her Allure interview. "I always felt quite alone in a crowded room, like I was just one of a kind, like nobody ever really understood me. So I liked [playing] characters that people understood [and] people could relate to because I felt like no one could relate to Millie."
It's impressive that Brown was able to use her passion as an outlet for these feelings of discomfort and loneliness. She has powered through it all and stands tall in her success as a result, and as such, you'll likely be seeing the performer on your screens again sooner rather than later.