[This story contains MAJOR spoilers from Stranger Things season five, Volume 2.]
Sadie Sink is readying to say goodbye to her Max in Stranger Things, but viewers don’t have to worry — there’s much more Sink to come.
The 23-year-old actress whose “passion for performing” has only grown over the years first joined the megahit Netflix series at just 14 years old in season two. Her character has since grown and Sink has grown with her, making the currently releasing final season even more emotional to leave behind.
“I expect to have that second wave of emotion once the finale is actually streaming on Netflix,” she tells The Hollywood Reporter. “As for now, I mean, I cried so much that last day, I feel like I grieved it properly and I got it all out of my system. But I fear there’s more coming.”
After the final episode of Stranger Things releases on New Year’s Eve, Sink’s next role will be on the big screen again when she stars alongside Tom Holland in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, releasing in July.
Below, Sink opens up about filming the emotional, long-awaited Stranger Things 5 scene when Max finally wakes up, and she talks about working with new scene partner Nell Fisher (Holly) and saying goodbye to the show and her character. She also teases that series finale while chatting about her experience joining the fourth Spider-Man installment.
The Duffer Brothers previously told THR that after season four, they told you that you would be a part of season five, but didn’t provide you with details. At what point did you have that conversation and were you ever worried Max wouldn’t wake up?
I had no idea what to expect. I knew they had a plotline prepared for me, but they hadn’t really told me what. Then about a year before we started filming [season five], they called me in to do a chemistry read with Nell [Fisher] who plays Holly. I was like, “Holly, who?” What do you mean? The little kid?” We did the scenes together, and that’s when I was more in the loop on what Max has been up to in the cave. So that was surprising. But I really loved her story this year. It was so unexpected, yet it also made sense and was a perfect way to have her still be in the show and driving the plot in some way, but not physically with the group in the real world. I thought it was clever how they did that.
What has it been like to hold this secret surrounding Max in season five, and have you been able to tell anyone?
I tell my family a lot. And we can talk about it with the other cast members, too. So it doesn’t feel like there’s that much to keep secret, or we’re just all very used to it at this point. But it’ll be nice once it’s all finally out there and I never have to keep a secret about Stranger Things again.
When did your castmates find out about episode seven — that Max would finally be waking up in the hospital?
I can’t remember if we did a table read for episode seven. I mean, we all knew she was going to wake up eventually. She had to, but we didn’t know how or when. That scene was one of my favorites to film because it had been so long since I had acted with my friends that I’ve been with for 10 years. It was a sweet moment to have amid all the craziness, and was a good reminder of how human this show is at times. Seeing Max and Lucas’ bond and that reunion felt very, very special. And it was so emotional to watch.
The Duffers said you and Caleb McLaughlin filmed your scene waking up in one or two takes. Can you bring me inside that moment and the emotions you felt?
It was amazing to see how live all of these emotions were on that day. Caleb did his close-up first and he really brought it; it was just so beautiful to watch. Then we turned around immediately after because I was like, “I’m going to start sobbing.” It was this domino effect. It was a really special moment I’m going to remember from that show forever. It felt like such a release for Max. Maybe I was hypersensitive that day because it was such an emotional scene, but I was really struck by feeling like, “Oh my God, this is it. This is the final season.” We were months out from wrapping, but that was the first time it hit me. Something about being with Caleb and Max and Lucas being together again, I was reminded what this show has been and what Max’s journey has been. Filming in the Mindscape and everything with Holly was all so fulfilling, but also so different from what I was used to with the show. So to have that again was such a special moment.
Episode seven ends with another highly anticipated, emotional scene with Will [Noah Schnapp] coming out to the rest of the gang. As a viewer, the emotions in that scene from all of you seemed to transcend your characters. And I know you had to film it all day to get coverage for everyone in the scene. How emotional was that as a cast to film?
Oh, really emotional and so proud of Noah in that moment because I know he was talking about that scene a lot and doing a lot to prepare. We had read the script for episode seven towards the beginning of filming, so we didn’t actually get to that scene until the end. So there was so much buildup and for an actor to know that you have this huge scene and this huge monologue that you have to deliver that is so important for the character, and also to Noah and the anticipation leading up to it, I’m sure that’s hard. But he really showed up that day and delivered such a beautiful, authentic performance, and to be there as a cast watching it and supporting him was super nice to feel how supportive we all were of each other in that moment. It was such a long day. We only did that scene because there were so many people you had to get coverage for, but Noah was a trooper. It was a very tender moment between all of us that I think fans will be really touched by.
With Max not having full mobility in Vol. 2, what does the series finale look like for her and her future? Can you tease anything?
She definitely plays a role in the final plan that they’re assembling in episode seven. Her input is needed in a lot of ways, but she’s obviously in such a different state. She’s awake, but she’s still in recovery, which is kind of bittersweet to see her back with everyone but so scarred from everything she went through. But she’ll definitely have to activate to assist in this final battle they’re all preparing for.
You and Nell Fisher, who plays Holly, had almost all of your scenes together up until Max waking up. She is essentially the new Max/Will, going into the finale and being stuck and needing to be rescued. What did you pass along to Nell, and what was Max’s best advice for Holly going into the finale?
I think Max gives such good advice to Holly at the end of episode six in that monologue of finding her inner strength and the hero within her, which I think pours out of Max in an unexpected way. But for Nell specifically, she’s such a good kid. She’s so self-assured and so wise beyond her years. I did try and prep her as much as possible because it’s a huge show and she has such a huge role in this season, so it’s definitely going to change things in her life as it did for me, as it did for everyone involved in the show. It was nice to offer that to her in any way I could, because us as kids, we didn’t really have anyone who had gone through the same experience on the same show. It felt nice to hopefully offer some guidance or support in what it means to be on Stranger Things as a 14-year-old kid.
How did you feel when you initially read Max’s ending?
I felt like it was exactly what I expected, because I also had been teased at certain things, but reading it was one thing and then doing it was another. It felt so surreal to be filming those final scenes. Finn [Wolfhard] put it in a great way the other day. He was saying that the last day of filming was the best day of his life, which sounds weird because it was so emotional. But it’s because everything that the show meant for us came to the surface on that final day. So feeling all of that gratitude and sadness and the mix of everything was so memorable. I feel so cheesy talking about it, but I’ve never experienced anything like that.
What was it like when they called “cut” on Max for Stranger Things and you wrapped your final scene?
The Duffers did a good job of finding the right moments to end each of our characters’ stories and to have a good scene to wrap on. One thing we all did was to try and be there for each other on each other’s last days.
Where are you in your process now of saying goodbye to this show and character, and what will you always take with you?
It’s interesting, we all watched the finale last week and I thought that would be another wave of goodbyee, but I really think this period is about sharing it with the fans. I expect to have that second wave of emotion once the finale is actually streaming on Netflix. As for now, I mean, I cried so much that last day, I feel like I grieved it properly and I got it all out of my system. But I fear there’s more coming.
Have you spoken to Kate Bush recently and given her a heads-up that she’s also a big part of Vol. 2 of the final season?
I have not. I have been meaning to try and meet. I’ve never met her in person, but I would just love that. I would totally geek out. But I need to reach out again because she’s just like my hero at this point. We went on quite the journey together. I spent so many years with Kate Bush in my ears.
Looking past Stranger Things, you’re also starring in the upcoming Spider-Man movie, Brand New Day. When you first learned you were going to be joining the Marvel universe, specifically a massive franchise like Spider-Man, what was your initial reaction?
Oh, it was crazy. I found out while we were wrapping up season five [of Stranger Things]. Spider-Man has always been my favorite. I love Spider-Man. I love Tom’s Spider-Man, especially. To be a fan of something and then join it is a familiar feeling for me, because I was a fan of Stranger Things before I joined the show, but I was super excited about what they had planned. I also worked with the director, Dustin Daniel Kretten, in one of the first movies I ever did when I was 14, so it’s kind of a full-circle moment. I had an amazing time working on that film. I can’t wait to talk about it more. There’s so much I want to share. That’s why I feel like keeping Stranger Things secrets are kind of easy because I have so many Spider-Man secrets I’m sitting on that feel even more secretive.
Do you have a dream role or genre that you would love to take on in the future?
I’m kind of open to whatever. At least right now, I’m finding myself gravitating towards challenges, which is good. One thing that’s important to me is to really tap into every side of myself as an actor when I’m choosing a new project. The first thing I look for is: How is this going to push me in ways I haven’t been pushed before, which is a good period to be in right now because I’ve been doing this for a very long time, but I’m still very young and there’s so much more to learn as I grow older and step into more adult roles. So there’s no specific genre that I’d like to do. Although I feel like in a couple of years I’m going to be like, “I just want to do a comedy or something really light,” which I’ve actually been saying for a while, but I still gravitate towards darker, more demanding things.
When you’re with a show like Stranger Things for such a long time, how does that impact the way you look at future projects you want to take on? For example, would you ever do something with that much commitment again? Are you more selective about which projects you want to join?
Balance is something I’ve been really keeping in mind, especially with the show ending. One thing that’s so nice about Stranger Things is that you film for a year and it’s very intense commitment, but there’s also so much security in that and it allows you in your off seasons to go and either take time off or try new things. I liked that structure, so I think I’m going to continue to find the balance of a bigger project or a franchise that’s more of a long-term commitment, and then also allowing that to sprinkle in whatever other projects I want to do, specifically theater, because I really learn the most when I’m doing that.
When you’re not filming or working, what does your perfect day off look like?
I’m a pretty boring person. I think my New Year’s resolution is to get more hobbies because I could just spend a day inside just watching TV and rotting. But I think I’ve justified that because being on set is so social in ways where you’re just constantly around people and giving so much of yourself, not only in performance, but behind the scenes, too. It can be super overstimulating. For every day on set, for me, I need a week or at least three or four days where I’m just doing nothing.
If you had to describe what makes Sadie Sink, Sadie Sink, what would you say?
I’ve always been Sadie, if that makes sense. It’s kind of a weird answer, but it’s never changed at all. I don’t think I’ve really changed over the years. It’s consistency.
Volume one and two of Stranger Things 5 are currently streaming on Netflix. The series finale releases on New Year’s Eve at 5 p.m. PT. Read THR’s Vol. 2 interview with the Duffer Brothers.
Read the full article here
