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Stranger Things has always given viewers terrifying villains, but Jamie Campbell Bower's latest portrayal might subvert all expectations. The performer, who played Henry and Vecna in the show, comes back in Volume 2 with a new side to his character, with performative kindness. For this role, Bower looked at one of history's worst cult leaders, Jim Jones. The People's Temple leader caused a tragic event in 1978 that claimed over 900 lives in Guyana.
Bower's research into this dark person helped him understand how to play someone who controls others. The performer says that Jones was on his mood board while working. This reference changed how he spoke his lines and moved when acting with the kidnapped kids. The role made Bower go to uncomfortable places as he portrayed someone who takes away freedom through clever words and fake care.
Taking inspiration from the dark history in Stranger Things
Bower explains how he created the cult leader's look that makes Mr. Whatsit so intimidating. He studied how Jones used words to control people and did the same things. The actor had to make consistent choices about how to communicate during filming. Bower shared his thoughts:
"Do I say the word 'you' or do I use the word 'we'? We're a family now,"
He understood how these word choices take away personal identity and create a fake depiction. The transformation from talking to individuals to talking as a group has sinister meanings. Bower calls this method "really grim" and says it "totally can remove the idea of autonomy."
Making this tricky character meant analyzing how cult leaders function. The performance in Stranger Things showcases how people can pretend to be nice.
Also See: Stranger Things stars Finn Wolfhard and Natalia Dyer specifically asked Duffer Brothers to have scenes together in the finale
A different kind of terror in Stranger Things by Mr.Watsit
While Mr. Watsit does not look like a threat the way Vecna does, Bower found this version just as complex.
"There was so much fear in playing that," the actor says about the acting challenge.
His fifth-season approach was totally different from the fourth season, where he worked around Henry's painful memories. Now he wonders how nice he can seem while hiding sinister plans against the kids. The hidden lies and plans create stress, especially during sequences with child performers. Bower describes the experience as "really hard, particularly opposite a child" and "really scary."
The role requires staying friendly on the outside while hiding terrible agendas. This two-faced persona makes Mr. Watsit more disturbing than antagonists who look obviously threatening.
Uncovering Henry's origins in Stranger Things
Stranger Things season 5 digs deeper into Bower's character through crucial revelations. The prequel play "The First Shadow" showed a cave event at age eight that changed Henry forever. Bower kept asking creators Ross and Matt Duffer about this life-changing moment. He explains:
"It was something that I really felt like I had to pry out of Matt and Ross Duffer,"
The sixth episode shows Holly and Max finding a crucial memory in a mine shaft. Young Henry encounters a hurt man with a suspicious silver suitcase who shoots him in fear. Henry stays relatively calm and proceeds to kill the man brutally, and goes for the mysterious case when asked what is within the suitcase.
What lies ahead in Stranger Things
The finale plot shows Henry and the twelve manipulated kids holding hands at the Creel dinner table. Most of them follow him blindly. He needs to start his sinister plan for changing reality. Bower confirmed the finale would shock viewers. He teases the following:
"If you think you know what is to come at the beginning of 8, you're probably wrong,"
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Stranger Things brings unpredictable terror through Bower's terrifying performance that changed television's depiction of villains forever.
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