Stranger Things: Jamie Campbell Bower Talks Vecna, Villain Archetypes, and Vampires

When notable franchise actor Jamie Campbell Bower casually popped up on Stranger Things Season 4, fans of his work knew something strange was about to go down.

And go down it did when the seemingly sweet orderly at Brenner’s facility turned on Eleven, revealing himself to be the big bad behind it all.

Beyond terrorizing us as Vecna, Bower has become a household name with roles in Twilight, Mortal Instruments, and the mini-series Will. He recently stopped by Fan Expo Canada for a Q&A panel to see the Stranger Things phenomenon for himself.

The Art of Villany

For Bower, the process of channeling Vecna was a rather intense one.

“I would spend time doing a lot of dark meditation work, using a lot of low-frequency sound, and staring at pictures of Millie’s eyes. Like I took a picture of Sadie, crossed out her eyes with this red pen, and then wrote, ‘Kill them all,'” the actor joked.

When navigating Peter, however, he preferred to focus on what was festering beneath that nice guy act.

“What he’s having to do is mask this fire that he has inside him with this exterior politeness in order to survive his world. I would make sure that the fire was inside of me, but I would make sure I was polite, and nice externally.”

That may sound unpleasant, but Bower insisted he “loved” playing Vecna and suspected most actors would. “Often with the villain, what you get is a character who has far more depth, far more experience. With all that weight and depth comes really nuanced, interesting, and dangerous characters,” he explained.

“For actors, those are really fun to play. We get to pull our hearts out in a way that is not often seen when playing the hero. Internal conflict — very exciting and very sexy.”

“There’s a reason why actors are cast. More often than not, if a project is successful, it’s because they had a part of the character they’re playing within them. I think for me, it was just about tapping into that and not being afraid,” Bower admitted.

Do you know who was afraid, though? Everyone who saw him in the Vecna suit on set, notably Millie Bobby Brown.

“Lovely Millie, who I became very close with, burst into tears. She had said recently she thought she was going to walk onto set, and Vecna wasn’t going to be there; it was just going to be someone in a green-screen suit. How she thought that four months into filming the project, I have no idea. But ya, Millie cried a lot.”

“I would walk down a dark hallway, and the crew would see me and scream. That was always quite satisfying and strange. There were some pretty intense reactions.”

Reactions that had nothing to do with Vecna’s sinister stare. “I would make sure my focus was on the other actor, whether that be Millie or Sadie. So people saw me staring directly at them for a good four hours and were very concerned,” he recalled with a laugh.

Sympathizing with Vecna

For Bower, falling in love with the character is part of his process.

“I can’t judge them and hate them. I have to really understand where they’re coming from to play them from a place of truth,” the actor clarified. “This is a character who has his own belief system that the world is a very savage and brutal place. Everything he encounters only confirms that — whether it’s conformational bias or not is not really for me to think about.”

“For him, all the things he believes are true, so yes, I do sympathize with him because I understand what that feels like. I work in film. I live in Los Angeles. It’s not often I do get to meet a lot of real people,” Bower grinned. (Listen, it’s a good joke.)

As for saving Peter from himself, the actor admits some villains are beyond redemption arcs.

“I don’t think a good cuddle is going to fix him, he’s just so rooted in his belief system. And, that’s something I had to think about when preparing for Vecna. This character has had years to sit and stew in isolation on resentment. Talk about creating a monster!”

Getting the Band Together

So what would be Bower’s Vecna-saving song?

“I got this question early on in the press run and wasn’t prepared for it,” Bower revealed. “I said something stupid like Miley Cyrus, and I really fucking wish I hadn’t said that. My smart answer would be Placebo’s cover of ‘Running up That Hill.'”

Speaking of music, the cast of Stranger Things is overflowing with talented musicians. Joe Keery releases music under the name Djo, Joseph Quinn plays guitar with several released singles, and Bower has his punk rock band Counterfeit.

But when confronted by the idea of collaborating with his costars, Bower had something bigger in mind. “I think we should do a touring show,” he declared.

Returning to musicals is not off the table for Bower either: “If the character felt right and if it struck a chord with me, I certainly would. It’s not something I’d ever say no to, but it would definitely have to be for the right reasons. I would want to feel moved by it.”

Team Caius & Christopher

While Stranger Things is the latest phenomenon for Bower, he has had a hand in pop culture’s biggest franchises. For him, all those characters stay with the actor in some capacity, regardless of success.

“Every single project,” he admitted, although there’s one that stands above the rest. “I played Christopher Marlowe in a TV show called Will. There were parts of him that still come up in my day-to-day, but I think the reason I was cast as Marlowe is because I’m a bit fruity. He was someone that a small group saw and felt seen by too.”

However, Bower confirmed our sparkly vampires still hold the throne as the project that resonated with fans the most.

“Being in Twilight was such a cultural phenomenon. We never experienced anything like that,” he confirmed. “People were always like, ‘Oh my god, you were in Twilight? That’s amazing!’ But I’m not sure Caius was a character that really resonated with people. I’m not sure they were like, ‘He speaks for me. Team Caius all the way.'”

The Starbucks Meme

Since Vecna’s unveiling, a photo of Bower drinking Starbucks in his costume has gone viral online. It’s a part of the job the actor is happy to encourage.

“I have no choice. It is out of my hands,” Bower said regarding the memes. “I can’t speak on behalf of everyone that’s making memes, but sometimes when you see things that are terrifying, you kind of laugh them off. It’s a very easy way to do it.”

“But also, those are funny memes. The picture of me sipping Starbucks is very funny. The picture of me doing a semi-gang sign in Vecna is very funny. So I only have myself to blame. You can’t really point the finger at somebody else and go well no that’s me drinking coffee, ya sorry about that.”

Bower also offered his go-to Starbucks order for those looking to recreate the meme.

“I know what Vecna’s Starbucks order would be. I am Vecna, he is me,” Bower laughed. “So my Starbucks order is a venti salted caramel cream cold brew — are you writing this down — with extra foam on the top. If you want to be really cheeky you can ask for grande but in a venti cup and then fill the space up with foam. It’s a real trick.”

What makes this a Vecna Starbucks special, you ask? “Children’s blood,” Bower joked. “That’s going to get the wrong people talking.”

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You can watch Jamie Campbell Bower terrorize the townspeople of Hawkins on Stranger Things Season 4, now streaming on Netflix.

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