Jamie Campbell Bower is a force to be reckoned with in his role as Henry-slash-One-slash-Vecna in Stranger Things. But how did he get to be so scary? Well, it was a whole process dating all the way back to his very first audition which gave him some amazing clues about the character he would be playing. Jamie wasn t given actual sides from the show at first. No, he received sides from Hellraiser and Primal Fear. Characters with different versions of themselves. So he knew he would be playing a two-faced character from the start. But by the time that second audition came around he d done a whole mind map of the character to try and figure out his motivations which really impressed the Duffer Brothers.
The concept art for Vecna is so creepy and intriguing but the Duffers were adamant they were going practical so a lot of the designs were either scrapped for that reason, because Jamie s facial expressions were too limited or because they just didn t disguise him well enough. The process for creating the mold that Jamie had to wear was a long one too. It first had to be sculpted, then submerged in water, then cut into pieces, and then molded. While it was over ninety percent practical, it did have an element of CGI that couldn t be helped. Just to bring it to life. Jamie s ability to talk in that voice is just downright impressive but one thing held him back. The asymmetrical left hand is an awesome practical effect. His behaviour on set was pretty funny too, and he freaked out one unsuspecting Millie Bobby Brown. Date: 2022-07-28
