Jamie Campbell Bower on Hanging Up His ‘Stranger Things’ Suit: “I’m Feeling a Lot Lighter”

[This story contains MAJOR spoilers from the series finale of Stranger Things.]

Jamie Campbell Bower was more in the dark for the final season of Stranger Things than he had ever been. When the actor who plays the big bad in the Duffer Brothers-created series joined Netflix‘s sci-fi mega-hit back in season four, Bower was able to methodically discuss and prep to play his villain, who had three identities that season: Vecna, Henry Creel and 001 —  the first patient at Dr. Brenner’s (Matthew Modine) Hawkins Laboratory who would spark the program that led to Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown).

In the final season, Stranger Things 5, that has released in three parts over the 2025 holiday season, Bower added a fourth identity: Mr. Whatsit, the mysterious man who abducted Hawkins children by masquerading his master plan with a Mr. Rogers-like kindness. After eight episodes, however, Eleven and the core Stranger Things gang finally figured out how to defeat Vecna/Henry/Mr. Whatsit, with Joyce Byers (Winona Ryder) delivering the final deadly blow as justice for taking her son, Will (Noah Schnapp), which kickstarted the series, and for hurting so many others in Hawkins.

Bower didn’t know his character’s fate going into the final season. Creators Matt and Ross Duffer, who also directed the series finale, said it took them extra long to write and stick the landing, which meant the cast received the final script later in production on season five. “There were paragraphs of text messages that I have sent Matt and Ross during this process about Henry and Vecna and Whatsit,” Bower tells The Hollywood Reporter of the thought and care he has put into the role. “It takes up a lot of brain space when you’re playing a character like that. You’re constantly thinking about it. [But] it became less lonely as the journey went on, and particularly as we got to episodes seven and eight [the finale].”

Below, Bower talks to The Hollywood Reporter about leaving Stranger Things behind after the Duffers closed the door on this Hawkins story.

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You previously told us that when you saw a photo of yourself on the last day of filming, that you looked like a man who had just dropped the weight of the world. You do seem a lot lighter.

Thank you, I’m feeling a lot lighter. It’s been really nice to unpack these finale episodes — five, six and seven — and with the finale out, I’ll be fully there.

Your physical transformation into Vecna last season required hours of makeup and less CGI than the audience expected. How different was the process to become Vecna this final season?

Last season was full prosthetics, head to toe, which was an application time of about seven-and-a-half hours. This season was an application time of about four hours, and it was much more of a cross-collaborative process between departments. The prosthetics started here [gesturing to his torso] and went up to my head. My arm was prosthetic. I still had my long-fingered hand and my nails, too. Everything else was a motion capture suit that was painted vine-y with purple dots all over. So while it wasn’t full prosthetic, what you are seeing in this final season is me. The physicality is still me, but it allowed me to have conversations with [costume/prosthetic makeup team] Amy Paris and Michael Meher and Barrie Gower about what we wanted and what we needed from the suit as we went into it.

What were new things you needed to be able to do in the suit?

I needed American football pads on my shoulders. I wanted to make sure that the scale and size of Vecna was still there; that the presence was there for the kids. Michael needed me to hold my arms in a particular way, because we were missing certain parts of Vecna this season [from being attacked last season] — hence why he looked so snatched!

I assume you saw the Ozempic memes on social media?

I kind of participated in the them; I said it was from Zumba. (Laughs.) We put two blocks on my side so I could hold my arms in a particular way. We put three-inch risers in my shoes that we could take up and down, depending on what we needed in front of the camera. Those were little personal touches that I wanted or that would make the process easier overall. I said to just make sure that presence and power was still there, because there is a difference between seeing somebody in full garb with regards to seeing somebody in a suit.

You already had multiple identities and layers to this character, and this season added Mr. Whatsit. How did having this additional identity change how you approached him this season?

I almost approached Whatsit as a separate character. For Henry [Creel; who is explored in the stage show] and for this project, I used a lot of mood boards comprised of visual references that I needed for memory. Things that were more abstract but that meant something to me, as well as actual references with regards to little things like gait and poise and other characters I knew and loved, and some real people as well. It was about taking the more abstract memory part of things and pulling them over to this new iteration of Henry with Mr. Whatsit, and bringing in more references and more ideas. References for this season for me were Mr. Rogers, including the real person from the movie A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood with Tom Hanks. I used the music from that a lot. I used Van Johnson from The Pied Piper of Hamelin (1957). I used The Shining. There was a 2020 movie called Alone that I used. There were a lot of things I pulled together, because it was about retaining that memory and those experiences, as well as making sure there was a presentation of niceness.

You’ve spoken about how lonely this role has been for you, but you do interact with more cast, and particularly more children, this season. Did you still find this role to be isolating?

It’s funny. I had so much fun with those kids, and it’s not something I really have, even now, had full time to process. But they were so sweet to me. We got to play games between takes and have fun and have a laugh, particularly towards the end. There’s that great scene at the end of episode seven where we’re all sitting around the table — which is a pretty spooky scene — but I remember shooting having a real giggle with the kids at the time, which was very, very sweet because it did bring me kind of back down to earth. It brought me back into landing on, “Oh, no, okay, I am Jamie. It’s okay to be here.” And it wasn’t out of a conscious choice that I was using a method [acting approach]. It’s just that takes up a lot of brain space when you’re playing a character like that. You’re constantly thinking about it. So, was it as lonely? I suppose, personally, it became less lonely as the journey went on, and particularly as we got to episodes seven and eight.

That scene closed episode seven, leading the show into the epic finale.

It was so spooky. And the thing they were doing with their eyes [rolling them back into their heads], they actually were doing, which was really cool. We shot that scene a bunch of times, because some of the kids didn’t know how to, or felt like they couldn’t, do it. And I remember Matt and Ross [Duffer] being like, “No, no, you can do it.” And then where we picked up after that, I would say we either beat expectations or viewers just didn’t know [what was coming]. It came in so hot with a bang [to start the finale].

I know you were left more in the dark this season compared to last, when the Duffers onboarded you onto the show and outlined Vecna’s season four arc. Did you know how it all would end when you filmed episode seven?

Yes. I think so. The finale was handed to us in its entirety I believe halfway through shooting seven. So I did know where we were going by that point. There were earlier episodes where I didn’t know where we were going. But by the end of seven, I knew what was to come.

What were some of the biggest questions you had for the Duffers about understanding your character(s) this season?

About the character and the world, my questions were: “How do these parallel universes work? Can you show me physically what that looks like?” When I asked them, they had a camping chair that extended like a trumpet, and they were like, “Oh, it’s like this. And you want to do this [collapsing it].” I was like, “I still don’t fully understand, but okay.” (Laughs.)

I read books by Mickey Kaku to try and understand more. I still don’t fully understand that side of theoretical physics, but it was definitely interesting. Matt and Ross and myself had a really interesting conversation surrounding that scene with the kids where Henry is telling them that Max [Sadie Sink] is the monster. Originally, it was written as: Henry is pacing back and forth. He’s visibly distressed, and the kids are watching him become distressed and get distressed because he’s distressed.

And I was like, “Wouldn’t it be arguably more powerful — and I know his character well enough to know that he wouldn’t be distressed; he would try and maintain an air of calm while he’s still thinking on his feet, he needs to retain his composure. Can we do that instead?” I was terrified of asking the question, but they were very, very sweet and allowed me to do it. What that allowed to happen was that you get to watch the kids lead themselves into their demise. So as a viewer, you’re like, “No, no, no, no, no, don’t do that,” which I think is really cool, and likewise quite scary. There were paragraphs of text messages that I have sent Matt and Ross during this process about Henry and Vecna and Whatsit.

When you read Vecna’s ending, how did you feel?

Emotional. Super, super emotional. I know that’s a blanket word to cover many things and feelings. But I felt very emotional.

Did you keep the suit or anything from set?

I’ve got a hand. Just one hand. I have a 3D model of my own face in polystyrene, and a 3D-printed version of my own face as Vecna. And maybe some glue stuck behind my ear that I’ll never quite be able to get off. (Laughs.)

This show is ending, but this franchise has no end in sight — next comes animated series Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 and a forthcoming live-action spinoff. There’s also the Broadway show Stranger Things: The First Shadow, which is deeply rooted in Henry’s mythology. Is your Stranger Things journey truly over?

I don’t know. I mean, I’ve had the most amazing time making this show. It’s been such a blessing. It has changed so much of my life. Is my journey over? That’s for Matt and Ross Duffer to decide. But I have been so blessed by this project.

What is your priority project for 2026?

Sleep! I’ve got stuff I’m working on myself that will arrive when it arrives, and will be what it needs to be when it does appear. I’m in no rush with it; I let the muse lead the way. But first and foremost, some good rest and looking into new horizons.

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Stranger Things 5 is now streaming on Netflix. Follow along with all of THR’s postmortem coverage.