Stranger Things’ Vecna Actor Used Murderous Methods To Get Into Character

The actor said that resentment was a massive driving force for Vecna. He had been abused, misused, and discarded by those he trusted, and as a result, he believed the world was incredibly unjust. That repetition helped Bower feel the anger and drive of his character’s tortured soul. For the more explosively angry moments, Bower confessed he alternated between using pumping music and sitting alone in the dark to get to that emotional state. The last trick he admitted to using was isolating himself from the rest of the cast, so all he had were their creepy eyes-scratched-out photographs to focus on.

Sounds exhausting, but that’s why people like Bower are so good at what they do. They have the stamina and ambition to push themselves to such extremes, and we, the viewing audience, reap all the benefits.

Hopefully for next season Bower will be able to reach those depressing depths without having to pull serial killer moves, but maybe the old adage is correct, and if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. I’m just glad he’s not thousand-yard-staring at my face is all I’m saying.