A Stephen King Villain Inspired Stranger Things Star Jamie Campbell Bower’s Approach To Vecna
Jamie Campbell Bower’s Vecna looking angry in Stranger Things – Netflix
Jamie Campbell Bower’s Vecna was an unforgettable villain that seemed like a refreshingly unique character in a show so heavily indebted to its 1980s influences. But it appears that even Vecna was a product of the ’80s by way of Stanley Kubrick’s Stephen King adaptation “The Shining.” As it turns out, Bower drew from Jack Nicholson’s portrayal of the supernaturally-disturbed Jack Torrance for his Vecna performance, which certainly seemed to work, given that the actor was one of the show’s highlights.
The “Stranger Things” series finale might have left some big questions unanswered and generally courted widespread controversy upon its release, but there’s no undermining the impact the Netflix show has had. So many elements went into making it the biggest streaming series in the world, and Bower’s big bad was one of the most important.
When he debuted in the fourth season premiere, Vecna provided something even more terrifying than the Demogorgon and Demodog antagonists of earlier seasons. He was an all-powerful psychopath hell bent on … well his true aim wasn’t revealed until season 5, but he was downright evil. He also had much more depth than your typical scary “Stranger Things” monster, having once been at the center of Dr. Martin Brenner’s (Matthew Modine) perverse experiments to harness the psychokinetic abilities of a young Henry Creel. It was Creel who eventually became Vecna after he was banished to an alternate realm by Milly Bobby Brown’s Eleven. All of this certainly gave Bower a lot to work with, but it turns out he actually drew a significant amount of inspiration from outside sources, including Nicholson’s indelible performance in “The Shining.”
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Jamie Campbell Bower’s Vecna performance was one of many 80s-inspired elements of Stranger Things
Jack Nicholson’s Jack Torrance stares off into the distance in The Shining – Warner Bros.
“Stranger Things” could, at times, feel more like pastiche than anything else. Even creators Matt and Ross Duffer pitched the show as “What if Steven Spielberg directed a Stephen King book?” That perfectly encapsulates the show’s unapologetically overt influences, and while it did manage to transcend those influences from time to time, there’s just no escaping the fact that homage and ’80s nostalgia in general was at the heart of “Stranger Things.” But those influences go much deeper than the Spielberg and King references — all the way down to more subtle inspirations for Jamie Campbell Bower’s performance.
As the British performer explained to Entertainment Weekly, he used 1980’s “The Shining” as a reference for his portrayal of Henry Creel/Vecna in “Stranger Things” seasons 4 and 5. “The Kubrick-ian stare was obviously something I was very eager in utilizing, even in season 4,” he told the outlet.
The famous “Kubrick Stare,” as was invented by Malcolm McDowell in 1971’s “A Clockwork Orange,” became a signature of Kubrick’s work (hence the name). It can be seen most obviously in 1987’s “Full Metal Jacket” when Vincent D’Onofrio’s Private Leonard “Gomer Pyle” Lawrence uses it to convey his mental deterioration à la Jack Nicholson in “The Shining.” Nicholson similarly made great use of the twisted glare to convey Jack Torrance’s own crumbling psyche while he’s staying at the Overlook hotel. In that instance, the Kubrick Stare suited the actor almost a little too well, and using that same visual cue makes a lot of sense for Henry Creel — less so for Vecna, who is the product of layer upon layer of extensive prosthetics.
The Kubrick Stare was simply one part of Jamie Campbell Bower’s Vecna performance
Jamie Campbell Bower’s Henry Creel is seen in closeup lit by red light in Stranger Things – Netflix
During his Entertainment Weekly interview, Jamie Campbell Bower expanded on his influences for Vecna. In fact, he cited none other than 2007’s “Funny Games,” the Naomi Watts-led horror remake of the 1997 film of the same name, both of which were directed by Michael Haneke. Evidently, Bower drew heavily from that film in season 4, stating that he tried to emulate “the way that Brady [Corbet] and Michael [Pitt] hold themselves” as that movie’s sadistic villains.
Other influences included the 2020 serial killer thriller “Alone” (which topped Netflix charts in 2024) and Van Johnson’s performance in the 1957 musical feature “The Pied Piper of Hamelin.” But perhaps the most unlikely influence was the kindly, empathetic legend of a host that was Fred Rogers, who provided a framework for Bower’s portrayal of Henry/Vecna’s third identity, Mr. Whatsit, in season 5. “Mr. Rogers was a really interesting reference because that actually bled into music as well,” Bower told EW. “I used Tom Hanks [playing Mr. Rogers] in ‘A Beautiful Day In the Neighborhood,’ but that score is really eerie as well, with some real moments of spook.”
Melding a creepy Mr. Rogers impression with a Jack Nicholson-inspired Kubrick Stare does sort of sound like a great recipe for a villainous portrayal. It’s also further proof that Bower’s performance on “Stranger Things” remains one of the best parts of the show’s last two seasons, even as its finale continues to draw outrage from fans ( especially those who are furious with Eleven’s ostensible fate).
You can stream the entirety of “Stranger Things” on Netflix.
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Read the original article on SlashFilm.
