Stranger Things Star Had Unsettling Experience With Vecna

Stranger Things Season 4 introduced to the series’ most terrifying monster yet: Vecna, the psychic-powered “Five-Star General” of the Mind Flayer. The big twist ending to Stranger Things 4 – Part I was that “Vecna” was actually Henry Creel, the former “No. 1” prototype of Dr. Martin Brenner’s program. Actor Jamie Campbell Bower spent most of his screen time in Stranger Things 4 either creeping us out as a mysterious bug-eyed orderly in Eleven’s memories – or as the grotesque-looking Vecna, in an elaborate suit of full-body prosthetics. 

Well, for one star of Stranger Things the first encounter with Campbell as Vecna left a truly unsettling impression! 

Stranger Things star Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin) was on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon to promote the release of Stranger Things 4 – Part II on Netflix, and recounted the weird first meeting he had with Vecna. According to Matarazzo, he randomly ran into Bower in half-costume as Vecna while waiting for the 360° photo booth used to help capture the actors’ likenesses for later digital effects shots (of which there are many this season). The cast were instructed to do the photo session between filming scenes, and Matarazzo ended up in line with the freakiest person in the bunch: 

“And so it was kind of like a little line of the cast in costume,” Matarazzo explains to Kimmel. “They went whenever they had free time during filming. And I saw Vecna sitting there and I looked at him and I was like ‘Hi. It’s great to see you.’ I hadn’t seen him since the table read. And he was just like ‘Yeah, how are you? It’s good to see you,’ in like a lawn chair, feet up, and like whole half done up in Vecna gear. It is unsettling and just bonkers, yeah.” 

The story gets funny when Matarazzo and Fallon talk about how even being near ‘Vecna in sweatpants’ was a terrifying experience. 

The internet has been fascinated with the process of transforming Jamie Campbell Bower into Vecna – a lengthy prosthetics and painting effort that was captured in a now-viral behind-the-scenes video. Fans are going into Stranger Things 4 – Part II with their collective breath held tight, as series creators The Duffer Brothers have promised that Vecna will be claiming some victim(s) that will leave us all emotionally shattered. 

Stranges Things Season 4 will stream the entire season on July 1st on Netflix.