Actor Jamie Campbell Bower, known for his role as Vecna in “Stranger Things 5,” recently shared insights into the creative process behind his character. In the past, he drew inspiration from gothic imagery and figures like Dracula, but for the latest season, his references became more nuanced, including Fred Rogers from “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.”
Creative Inspirations
Bower mentioned, “I used The Shining, so the Kubrick-ian stare was obviously something I was very eager to utilize, even in season 4,” during an interview with Entertainment Weekly.
He elaborated on his previous inspirations, stating, “For season 4, I used Funny Games — the American remake, particularly the way that Brady (Corbet) and Michael (Pitt) hold themselves. You can see that I’ve…borrowed. Credit where credit’s due.”
For season 5, Bower cited the 2020 horror film Alone, which tells the story of a woman trying to escape a relentless psychopath, as well as actor Van Johnson in the 1957 classic The Pied Piper of Hamelin, as key influences.
Mr. Rogers as a Reference
Bower also found inspiration in the iconic children’s show host. “Mr. Rogers was a really interesting reference because that actually bled into music as well,” he explained. He added, “I used Tom Hanks in A Beautiful Day In the Neighborhood, but that score is really eerie as well, with some real moments of spook.”
He recalled going through his phone and discovering videos of himself on set preparing for the season 5 “Shock Jock” scene, walking down a staircase. “There are videos of me … prior to getting there, practicing, trying things out, seeing what would work. I did it in two characters, but wanted to make sure that the body was in the same place and that the movement was correct so that when it’s spliced together, it’s not too wild.”
Delving into Vecna’s Character
Bower perceives Vecna as an entirely separate entity, representing resentment or what he terms “vine around love.” He reflected, “I’d ask myself questions like, ‘Of all the things that could exist, why recreate the house?’” referring to the Creel family home where a young Henry tragically killed his mother and sister and plunged his father into madness.
“What does that mean to him? And what does home mean?” Bower continued. “What was that experience like for him as a child, growing up where home could have been safe but wasn’t? And perhaps this is an opportunity for him to recreate that safety.”
He further pondered, “If he sleeps, where does he sleep? Does he sleep in his old room? Does he sleep in the attic? Does he, in a really icky way, sleep in his parents’ room? Then with the Henry-ness of it, I think it’s going back to that innocence, to that child and, I suppose, you could look at them as a development of a loss of innocence.”