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Mr. Rogers Among Jamie Campbell Bower’s Inspirations for Vecna in Stranger Things Season 5

Bower says Fred Rogers shaped his approach to a villain built on memory, resentment, and a fractured sense of home.

Overview

  • In a new Entertainment Weekly interview, Bower says Fred Rogers informed Vecna’s demeanor and even guided music choices, citing Tom Hanks’s portrayal as a reference point.
  • He also cites The Shining, Funny Games, Alone, and Van Johnson’s performance in The Pied Piper of Hamelin as key touchstones for the latest season.
  • Bower describes the character as a manifestation of resentment and memory, with performance choices meant to evoke a warped notion of safety tied to the idea of home.
  • Volume 2 features a sequence that showcases the villain rapidly shifting between personae, which Bower says he rehearsed carefully to keep the physical continuity precise.
  • The new episodes include a memory that nods to the Nevada Experiment and the stage prequel The First Shadow, with the finale debuting on Netflix and in select theaters at 8 p.m. ET on Dec. 25.