‘Stranger Things’ Star Reveals the Heartbreaking Downside of Working on the Show

Entertainment gossip and news from Newsweek’s network of contributors

Millie Bobby Brown has been playing the role of Eleven on Netflix‘s Stranger Things since it premiered in 2016, when she was only 11 years old.Now, nearly 10 years later, she can still feel the negative effects that working as an actor on a popular show at such a young age had on her life.

The 20-year-old actress recently spoke up about how being on Stranger Things played a major role in restricting her social development and her ability to interact with people her age.

“I don’t have many friends because of who I am,” Brown told Vanity Fair in their latest cover story, published on Wednesday, February 12. “I didn’t go to school, so I don’t have the best social skills when it comes to people my own age and friendships,” she added before admitting, “I struggle with that quite a bit. I missed out on a few things. But I’m working through them.”

Brown also touched on what it was like to return to play Eleven one last time in the long-awaited fifth and final season of Stranger Things, along with the weight of saying goodbye to a character she has lived with for so long.

“It wasn’t hitting me this entire time—I was on set, and I was like, ‘Well, I have one more day left.’ And I started crying. I don’t actually like to cry at work. I’m a really emotional person, but I try to stay super strong,” she told the outlet.She also added, “It made me feel so uncomfortable. Jake was like, ‘It’s good, you have to get it out!’ and I just started welling up.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Stranger Things Netflix (@strangerthingstv)

The final season of Stranger Things reportedly finished filming in December 2024 and is expected to be available for streaming exclusively on Netflix in late 2025.

The post ‘Stranger Things’ Star Reveals the Heartbreaking Downside of Working on the Show appeared first on Newsweek.