Stranger Things co-creators Matt and Ross Duffer are not afraid to leave anyone on read, including the show’s stars, Noah Schnapp and Jamie Campbell Bower. The twin brothers, 42, appeared Thursday at the show’s Emmys FYSEE Event at Hollywood Forever Cemetery, alongside Schnapp, Campbell Bower, David Harbour, Natalia Dyer and director Shawn Levy, to speak about the hit Netflix series, which concluded its five-season run in December.
Schnapp's Unanswered Texts
Schnapp, 21, told the audience that when he was first cast as Will Byers at age 11, he experienced the common fear and nerves of being a child actor. But he eventually grew more confident as he got older and realized, “No, I’ve been with this character for so many years, and I also have an opinion that matters.”
“And I think coming into this [final] season I felt confident in that,” he noted, turning to the creators to add: “I mean, the Duffers can speak to how many texts I’ve sent them that went unanswered of ideas and pitches for this and that, and videos of ‘should it go this way or this way?’” As the audience laughed, Levy jumped in to clarify, “But they read every one,” with Schnapp insisting, “I hope they read it!”
“They didn’t go unanswered. What are you talking about?” Ross retorted, as Schnapp replied: “I can pull up the receipts.” Harbour chimed in to jokingly request that his co-star “leave the read receipt on next time.”
Praise for Collaborative Approach
Despite the ignored texts, Schnapp praised the brothers for their “collaborative” approach to directing, especially regarding his feedback on Will’s coming-out storyline. “I knew people would riot if there wasn’t a little more with that,” he admitted. “So yeah, I just let them know and to have them then go in and write it and change it and take that feedback. It’s so special and speaks to how collaborative they are as directors and such great listeners and value their actors.”
Campbell Bower's Experience
Later during the panel, Campbell Bower, 37, addressed a difficult moment during the fifth season when he was “grappling” with his villain, Henry Creel/Mr. Whatsit/Vecna, lying to the children. “Again, like Noah, sent a load of text messages that didn’t get answered,” the British actor laughed. “But the boys are very sweet because they just let me kind of ramble and then we’d come back to it later.”
Final Season Reception
The fifth and final season of Stranger Things, which followed a group of school friends as they investigate a series of supernatural occurrences in their Indiana hometown, received mixed reviews. “In the end, the show lost its way in a maze of sci-fi bunkum,” The Independent’s Nick Hilton argued in a three-star review. “Netflix’s most important original IP has morphed from a brilliant, influential coming-of-age saga into just another CGI rock’em sock’em adventure.”
