Stranger Things Millie Bobby Brown, Matthew Modine Cover Shoot Photos - Netflix Tudum
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Since meeting on set when Millie Bobby Brown was just 11 years old, the Stranger Things stars have forged such a strong bond that Matthew Modine even tags along on Brown family vacations.At Tudum’s cover shoot, the two actors sat down to share why establishing a familiar, solid foundation was integral to building Papa and Eleven’s on-screen relationship and why Vecna is no match for their real-life friendship.
Photographs by Danny Kasirye
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“The Duffer brothers were so excited for me to meet this young, new talent — they were giddy,” says Modine of the day he was introduced to Brown. “They were so happy with the work that she was doing, and they said, ‘You’re going to love working with her!’”
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“Papa and Eleven have such an intimate relationship, so we needed to be able to bond to portray that,” Brown tells Tudum. “We meshed, and it was just a true, real friendship. Nothing was ever forced. It just worked.”
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“[The fans] love the relationship between Papa and Eleven,” says Modine. “Obviously, people are protective of Eleven, and they’re like, ‘You better not hurt her in Season 4. You better not harm her!’”
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“We collaborated on this father-daughter relationship because it needs to be believable,” says Brown. “People need to believe that these individuals grew up together, literally. We built gestures, like Papa booping my nose and things like that.”
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“It was fascinating to watch somebody who was actually 11 years old be able to compartmentalize her life and her work,” says Modine of working with Brown on Season 1. “I met Millie as a child, and I was ecstatic because I was working with such a professional person.”
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During filming of Season 1, Modine even moved into the Brown family’s guesthouse, which they renamed Modine House. “We come home after work, and my mom would make dinner for us,” says Brown. “And if Modine was tired, we would just take the golf cart down to the house, give him his food and leave a note that we loved him.”
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“The slogan [of Season 4] is ‘The beginning of the end.’ We need to go and dig deep into Eleven’s past — and there’s no past without Papa,” says Brown of Modine’s return in Volume 1.
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“There was a comfort for [Brown’s parents] knowing that Millie was in good hands with her scene partner because they knew my work from beforehand,” says Modine. “It was important for all of us to get together and be familiar and friendly with each other.”
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“He is someone outside of my family that I will go to for anything,” says Brown. “He is someone I heavily rely on emotionally — and I haven’t found that in this life so far.”
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Because their on-screen dynamic can get tense at times, Modine and Brown established a system where they would blink once at one another to check in and say “I love you” amid challenging scenes.
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“I found that person for me to just rely on and know that he’s always got my back,” says Brown. Having been thrust into the chaos of a globally successful show at such a young age, Brown is happy she had Modine as her “partner” through it all. “And anyone that goes through that same situation now, I’m able to try and be that Modine for them.”Stranger Things Season 4, Volume 2 premieres July 1.